Supreme Court Rules 2013 - Order X | Order 10

 Supreme Court Rules 2013 and Supreme Court Rules 1966 (Repealed) 

Landmark Cases of India / सुप्रीम कोर्ट के ऐतिहासिक फैसले

Supreme Court Rules 2013: 

Order X

Inspection, Search, Etc.

1. Subject to the provisions of these rules, a party to any cause, appeal or matter may apply to the concerned Registrar and shall be allowed to search or inspect all pleadings and other documents or records in the case, on payment of the prescribed fees and charges.

2. A search or inspection during the pendency of a cause, appeal or matter, shall be allowed only in the presence of an officer of the Court and after twenty-four hours' notice in writing to the parties who have appeared, and copies of documents shall not be allowed to be taken, but notes of the search or inspection may be made.

3. No record or document filed in any cause, appeal or matter shall, without the leave of the Court, be taken out of the custody of the Court.

4. The Registrar may, in his discretion, permit any record to be sent to any Court, tribunal or other public authority on requisition received from such Court, Tribunal or authority.

Supreme Court Rules 1966: 

ORDER X

DOCUMENTS

1. The officers of the Court shall not receive any pleading, petition, affidavit

or other document, except original exhibits and certified copies of public documents,

unless it is fairly and legibly written, type-written or lithographed in double-line

spacing, on one side of standard petition paper, demy-foolscape size, 1

[or of the

size of 29.7 cm x 21 cm], or paper which is ordinarily used in the High Courts

for the purpose. Copies filed for the use of the Courts shall be neat and legible,

and shall be certified to be true copies by the advocate on record, or by the party

in person, as the case may be.

2. No document in language other than English shall be used for the purpose

of any proceedings before the Court, unless it is accompanied by:

(a) a translation agreed to by both parties; or

(b) a translation certified to be true translation by a translator appointed

by the Court; or

(c) the said document is translated by a translator appointed or approved

by the Court.

1. Ins. by G.S.R. 410, dated 26th February, 1968 (w.e.f. 26-2-1968).

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THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1966

1

[Explanation: - The provisions of this rule shall, so far as may be, apply

also to a document in English of which a part is in a language other than English.]

3. Every document required to be translated shall be translated by a translator

appointed or approved by the Court:

Provided that a translation agreed to by both parties, or certified to be a true

translation by the translator appointed or approved by the Court, may be accepted.

4. Every translator shall, before acting, make an oath or affirmation that he

will translate correctly and accurately all documents given to him for translation.

5. All plaints, petitions, applications and other documents shall be presented

by the plaintiff, petitioner, applicant, appellant, defendant or respondent in person

or by his duly authorised agent or by an advocate on record duly appointed by

him for the purpose:

Provided that a party, who had been adjudged to be 2

[an indigent person]

for the purpose of the proceedings in the courts below, may present the document

before the Judicial authority of the place where the said party resides, and the said

Judicial authority after attesting the document and endorsing thereon under his seal

and signature the date of presentation, shall transmit the same to the Court by

registered post, acknowledgement due at the expense of the party concerned. The

date of presentation in this Court of the said document shall be deemed to be the

date endorsed thereon by the said Judicial authority.

6. (1) All plaints, petitions, appeals or other documents shall be presented at

the filing counter and shall, wherever necessary, be accompanied by the documents

required under the rules of the Court to be filed along with the said plaint, petition,

or appeal.

3

[Provided that a plaint, petition or appeal not presented at the filing counter

by the petitioner or by his duly authorised Advocate-on-Record shall not ordinarily

1. Ins. by G.S.R. 1006, dated 2nd July, 1970 (w.e.f 11-7-1970).

2. Subs. by G.S.R. 994, dated 8th December, 1982 (w.e.f. 25-12-1982).

3. Ins. by G.S.R. 407, dated 9th December, 1997 (w.e.f. 20-12-1997).

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THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1966

be accepted, unless as directed by the Chief Justice of India or a Judge nominated

by the Chief Justice of India for this purpose.]

(2) On receipt of the document, the officer in-charge of the filing counter shall

endorse on the document the date of receipt and enter the particulars of the said

document in the register of daily filing and cause it to be sent to the department

concerned for examination. If, on a scrutiny the document is found in order, it shall

be duly registered and given a serial number of registration.

(3) Where a document is found to be defective, the said document shall, after

notice to the party filing the same, be placed before the Registrar. The Registrar

may, by an order in writing, decline to receive the document if, in his opinion, the

mandatory requirements of the rules are not satisfied. Where, however, the defect

noticed is formal, the Registrar may allow the party to rectify the same in his

presence; but, in other cases, he may require the party to obtain an order from the

Court permitting the party to rectify the same and for this purpose may allow to

the party concerned, such time as may be necessary but not exceeding twentyeight days in aggregate.

(4) Where the party fails to take any steps for the removal of the defect

within the time fixed for the same by the Registrar, the Registrar may, for reasons

to be recorded in writing, decline to register the document.

(5) Any party aggrieved by any order made by the Registrar under this Rule

may, within fifteen days of the making of such order, appeal against it to the Judge

in Chambers.

7. The Registrar may on an application by the party interested, order the

return of a document filed in a suit, appeal or matter if the person applying therefor

delivers in the office a certified copy thereof to be substituted for the original.

8. (1) Except as otherwise provided by these rules or by any law for the time

being in force, the Court-fees set out in the Third Schedule to these Rules shall be

payable on the documents mentioned therein, and no document chargeable with a

fee under the said Schedule shall be received or filed in the Registry unless the fee

prescribed has been paid on it. No copy of a document shall be furnished to any

person unless the fee prescribed therefor has been paid.

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THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1966

1

[Provided, however, that no Court fees or process fee or copying fee shall

be chargeable in respect of matters filed in this Court through the Supreme Court

Legal Services Committee.]

(2) All fees referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be collected in Court fee stamp

sold in Delhi in accordance with the provisions of the Court-Fees Act as in force

in the Union Territory of Delhi.

(3) No document chargeable with a Court-fee shall be acted upon in any

proceedings in this Court until the stamp thereon has been cancelled.

The officer receiving the document shall forthwith effect such cancellation by

punching out the figure head so as to leave the amount designated on the stamp

untouched and the part removed by punching shall be burnt or otherwise destroyed.

(4) Whenever a question of the proper amount of the Court-fees payable is

raised, the Registrar or the Taxing Officer of the Court shall decide such question

before the document or the proceeding is acted upon in the Registry and whenever

it is found that due to a bona fide mistake the Court-fee paid is insufficient the

Registrar shall call upon the party concerned to make good the deficiency within

such time as the Registrar may think reasonable but not exceeding three months

in any case.

(5) In case the deficiency in the Court-fee is made good within the time

allowed, the date of the institution of the proceeding shall be deemed to be the

date on which the proceeding was initially instituted.

(6) The Registrar may in a proper case on an application made by the party

issue a certificate regarding any excess Court-fee paid under a mistake.

9. (1) The levy and collection of Court-fees under these rules shall be under

the general superintendence of the Registrar of the Court who may be assisted in

his supervision by the Assistant Registrars of the Court.

(2) Where at any time during the course of the pendency of a suit, appeal

or proceedings, or even after the conclusion of such a proceeding it appears to the

1. Ins. by G.S.R. 96(E), dated 16th February,1987 (w.e.f. 16-2-1987) and Subs. by G.S.R 307

dated 1st August, 2000 (w.e.f. 12-8-2000)

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THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1966

Registrar or the Taxing Officer that through mistake or inadvertence, a document

which ought to be stamped in a certain manner has been received and acted upon

without its being stamped or that the Court-fee paid thereon initially was insufficient,

the Registrar or the Taxing Officer shall record a declaration to that effect and

determine the amount of deficiency in Court fee:

Provided that no such declaration shall be made until the party liable to pay

the Court-fee has had an opportunity of being heard.

(3) When a declaration has been recorded under sub-rule (2) and if that

relates to a matter pending before the Court the procedure prescribed by sub-rule

(3) shall be followed; if it relates to the proceedings which have already been

disposed of the Registrar shall, if the deficiency is not made good within three

months of the declaration made, forward a requisition for the recovery of the same

to the Central Government which shall recover the amount of such Court-fee from

the person liable to pay the same as if it were an arrear of land revenue.