Order VIII - Documents : Supreme Court Rules 2013

What are Documents? Order VIII of Supreme Court Rules 2013

 

Order VIII of Supreme Court Rules 2013 : "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-foolscap size, 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 part 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 and notified by the Court.

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 and notified 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 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:

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 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 twenty eight
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.

a. (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:

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 bead 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 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.