LI Network
Published on: November 09, 2023 at 10:30 IST
The Supreme Court has called upon the Madras High Court to deliberate on amending its rules to ensure that the cause title of criminal appeals explicitly reflects the name of the state involved.
This directive emerged during a review of a criminal special leave petition brought forth against a Madras High Court decision.
The bench presiding over the matter, comprised of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Sanjay Karol, took note of the fact that special leave petitions originating from the State of Tamil Nadu did not bear the name of the state in their cause titles.
Senior Advocate Nagamuthu, representing the case, raised the concern before the court, emphasizing that this omission was customary in nature. It was brought to the court’s attention that even in the Madras High Court, the cause title of criminal cases failed to indicate the state’s name.
The Supreme Court recognized that whether this was a matter of convention or a matter governed by established rules required further examination. Hence, while acknowledging the need for investigation, the court did not reach a conclusive decision on this matter.
As a step towards resolving this issue, the Supreme Court directed the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court to contemplate revising the relevant rules. In its order, the court mandated, “we direct that the Registrar General of the Madras High Court should bring this order to the notice of the learned Chief Justice in order to consider whether appropriate amendments in the Rules should be made, if there is no other impediment, to avoid the afore-noted omission in the cause title of cases.”
This development seeks to address the concern that the state’s name is not consistently reflected in the cause titles of criminal cases in Tamil Nadu, emphasizing the importance of clarity and transparency in legal proceedings.
Case Title: ILAMARAN V. THE STATE REP. BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE