New SOPs for 'exceptionally urgent matters', guidelines by CJI

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has prepared a new set of guidelines for the hearing of urgent cases. This comes after the SC’s swift response to a rape survivor’s petition, seeking permission for abortion. As per the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), cases pertaining to ‘exceptionally urgent matters’ can be notified to the court’s mentioning officer by 10:30am.

Such matters that require urgent acknowledgement will be placed before the Chief Justice by the mentioning officer "during lunch recess or as the exigency may warrant", state the new SOP guidelines. Moreover, such requests can also be sent across by email, and they will closely be monitored by the CJI himself. As reported by NDTV, the late night bail hearing of Teesta Setalvad, and an urgent hearing on the communal clashes in Nuh are some of the recent cases that were taken up by the SC as per the SOP guidelines.

"The Supreme Court was criticized for the late-night reprieve to activist Teesta Setalvad, with many saying the swift response was because she was a known name. What about the Nuh case, then? The court is just following the new SOP for urgent cases," said a highly placed source, as reported by NDTV. The cases were heard in adherence to the new SOP guidelines.

In a recent turn of events, the Supreme Court came down heavily upon the Gujarat High Court for their ‘lackadaisical attitude’ in dealing with the rape survivor’s petition and for passing an order after the SC had listed the matter for hearing. The Gujarat HC had rejected the plea for abortion, however, the SC after reexamining the new medical reports, allowed the rape survivor to terminate her pregnancy.

The SC has notified that during the proceedings of the rape survivor's petition, the Gujarat High Court had ‘lost valuable time’. "In such cases, there must be not undue urgency, but at least a sense of urgency in such matters and not a lackadaisical attitude of treating it as any normal case and just adjourning it. We are sorry to say and make this remark," the bench had said. The SC has placed the new SOP guidelines to deal with such cases that need immediate attention of the judiciary.