'Adjournment Letters Can Be Circulated Only Once' : Supreme Court Notifies New Procedure To Circulate Adjournment Letters

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 14) issued a new circular outlining the procedure and modalities for the circulation of letters requesting adjournment of cases.

Under the new procedure, letters for adjournment will not be entertained in certain categories of cases, including those related to bail or anticipatory bail, where exemption from surrendering has been sought, matters where interim orders are in effect in favour of the party seeking time, and cases involving requests for suspension of sentence. Circulating adjournment letters in fresh and regular hearing matters has also been prohibited. However, in other matters, such letters can be circulated until one day before the publication of the main list.

Requests for adjournment must be submitted in the prescribed format via email, specifying the reason for seeking adjournment and the number of adjournments already sought. Crucially, consent or no objection must be obtained from advocates or parties appearing on the other side before circulating the adjournment letter.

The new guidelines also introduce restrictions to prevent abuse of the adjournment process. Parties or counsel are permitted to circulate letters for adjournment only once, and two consecutive adjournments without court listing are not allowed. Matters adjourned under these guidelines will be listed before the court within a maximum of four weeks, with a specific date set for hearing.

Furthermore, the top court has mandated that matters not listed as per schedule will be notified on the court's website if adjournment requests are granted.

This latest development comes after the Supreme Court's decision last year in late December to discontinue the practice of circulating adjournment letters or slips one day before a matter is listed, pending the formulation of a standard operating procedure (SoP) on adjournments.

Ahead of the annual winter break, the top court first put on hold the existing practice of circulating adjournment letters or slips, with such an embargo directed to continue until the last working day of the year. Both the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) protested against this change, urging the court to not discontinue this practice.

In response to their representations, the top court constituted a judges' committee to prepare a standard operating procedure (SoP) on adjournments with inputs from all stakeholders, including members of the bar. The practice of requesting a deferment of hearing through letters or slips however was declared to be discontinued until further orders. The circular issued on December 22 read –

“In light of the request of SCBA and SCAORA with regard to continuation of circulation of adjournments slips, the competent authority has been pleased to constitute a committee of Hon'ble Judges for preparing a standard operating procedure after inviting suggestions of the Bar and all stakeholders and for working further modalities. In the meanwhile, the practice of circulation of adjournment slips stands discontinued till further orders.”

This move sparked objections from legal practitioners, with 281 lawyers writing to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud protesting against the Supreme Court's decision. In the letter, the advocates argued that the elimination of the existing procedure during the interregnum would have 'serious consequences' for both the bar and the bench. Given these potential consequences, they have urged the judges' committee and Chief Justice Chandrachud to reinstate the previous system of seeking adjournments through circulation of slips, until a new mechanism is put in place.

 Click here to read the circular