Dismissing a petition questioning the legality of a circular issued by the Chief Justice & other Judges, the Nagpur bench of Bombay HC made it clear that the Constitution of India has granted powers to it to make general rules for the regulation of legal practice & it can't be interfered with by the Govt.
“Under Article 227(2) read with Article 235, power has been conferred upon HC to frame various acts. It included making & issuance of general rules & prescription of forms for regulation of practice & procedure of the courts in respect of which HC has authority to supervise. This power is exclusive to HC under the doctrine of ‘separation of powers’. It cannot be interfered with or encroached upon by any other government wing,” a division bench comprising Justice Sunil Shukre & Justice Anil Pansare held.
Adding that under the Constitutional scheme, there is a separation of powers amongst executive, legislature & High Court, the bench said each wing of governance is supreme within its own sphere of powers.
The High Court’s July 14, 2021, circular directed lawyers & litigants that all pleadings, petitions, affidavits or other documents submitted to the registry on the judicial side for filing in High Court & it’s benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad & Panaji (Goa) & all other courts across the state should be in a manner & specifications provided by it.
Accordingly, the filing should be done on a superior quality A4 size paper having not less than 75 GSM with printing on both sides. Times New Roman or Georgia fonts should be used in size 14 with an inner margin of 5cm & an outer margin of 3cm. This circular also directs that even for internal communications, similar paper types with similar specifications shall be used.
Terming the circular as illegal & ultra vires to Article 166, petitioner Abhijeet Bhalerao, a lawyer, contended that it was High Court’s executive order that was not issued in the governor’s name as required under Articles 166(1) & 166(2).
Praying for restoration of the position before July 14, 2021, the petitioner sought permission to the lawyers to file pleadings & submissions on legal paper without any objection from the registry staff. He also demanded continuation of the practice of filing of pleadings & submissions on A4 size paper only for a specified time & to discontinue it after some time.
The Judges said that what is laid down in Articles 166(1) & 166(2) would have no application when it comes to exercise of powers by HC under Article 227(2) read with Article 235 of the Constitution. “It is for the CJ & other HC judges to exercise powers specified in these articles without mixing with or interfering with the government’s executive powers & vice versa. Therefore, the argument that the July 14 circular violates Article 166 has no merit,” they said before rejecting the petition.
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