Kerala High Court Threatens Disciplinary Action Against Registry for Ignoring Roster Rules

Registry Officials Alerted

In a recent ruling, the Kerala High Court issued a stern warning to its registry officials, stating that disciplinary action could be taken against them if cases are not listed according to the roster unless the Chief Justice orders otherwise. This directive came from a division bench comprising Chief Justice AJ Desai and Justice VG Arun.

Importance of Proper Case Listing

The bench emphasized that improper listing of cases causes inconvenience to both judges and advocates.  The Court observed that the office is duty-bound to list matters before the concerned Judge strictly as per the roster, unless otherwise ordered by the Chief Justice. Any deviation from this direction, thereby causing difficulty to the Hon’ble Judges or Advocates appearing in the matter, will invite disciplinary action against the officials concerned.

Case Background: Mislisting of Appeals

The issue came to light when appellants in a case (Nair Service Society & Anr. v. TK Gopalakrishnan Nair & Ors.) argued that their appeal, along with related petitions, was initially listed before a single judge on April 5. The single judge had directed that all cases be listed before the appropriate bench as per the roster. However, some cases were still listed before the same single judge who did not have jurisdiction per the roster. The judge proceeded to hear some matters and listed them as part heard.

Court’s Observation and Ruling

The Court noted that once a matter is listed as part heard, it remains with that bench until concluded, regardless of any jurisdictional changes. The appellants argued that the single judge should not have heard the matters since the cases should have been listed according to the roster.

Roster Clarification

The Court observed that the single judge was leading a division bench at that time. According to the roster, if a judge in a division bench has to sit single, they should only deal with specified matters. The single judge was supposed to handle original petitions and writ petitions (civil) from 2014 only.

Final Order

Agreeing with the appellants, the Court quashed the orders passed by the previous single judge and directed that the cases be listed before the appropriate single judge as per the current roster.

This ruling reinforces the importance of adhering to procedural norms in the judicial system, ensuring that case management remains orderly and just.

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