The Supreme Court has recently directed all Courts and Tribunals to number paragraphs in all orders and judgments.
A bench of Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah made this observation in a judgment after noting that the impugned High Court judgment was not numbered paragraph by paragraph.
In this regard, the bench cited the decisions in Shakuntala Shukla v State of Uttar Pradesh LL 2021 SC 422 and State Bank of India v Ajay Kumar Sood 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 710, which emphasized the importance of writing simple and lucid judgments.
“It is also beneficial for all judgments to include paragraph numbers because it facilitates reference and improves the structure, improving the readability and accessibility of the judgments. A Table of Contents in a longer version aids the reader’s access “, the Apex Court stated in State Bank of India v Ajay Kumar Sood.
Referring to these precedents, the bench in the instant case stated: “It is desirable that all Courts and Tribunals, as a matter of practice, number paragraphs in all Orders and Judgments in seriatim, factoring in the afore-extracted judgments.”
The bench also directed the Supreme Court Secretary-General to circulate this judgment to the Registrars General of all High Courts, to present it to the Chief Justices, and to consider adopting a uniform format for Judgments and Orders, including paragraphing. The top court further suggested that the chief justices may direct the Courts and Tribunals subordinate to their High Courts accordingly as well.
