SC Commences Phase 1 of Neutral Citation System

The Supreme Court recently commenced phase one of its neutral citation system. The prescribed format for the neutral citation entails the first four digits representing the year of the judgment, followed by ‘INSC’ and subsequently the in-seriatim number of the case. Notably, the cases covered under this system span from 2014 onwards.

In April, the Supreme Court of India released a draft list comprising 10,000 judgments from January 1, 2014, to March 31, 2023, accompanied by their neutral citations.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud initially announced this development in open court during February of this year.

CJI Chandrachud stated that the neutral citation system will encompass all judgments delivered by the Court and will be implemented in three phases. In November of the previous year, the Supreme Court constituted a three-member panel comprised of High Court judges. The panel’s responsibility was to devise and implement a uniform and unique citation system for judgments.

Already, the Delhi, Kerala, Madras, and Bombay High Courts have successfully introduced neutral citations for their respective judgments.