WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has directed its Registry to strictly adhere to prescribed rules while preparing paper books in civil and criminal cases after the court found that the records being prepared were not in conformity with the relevant provisions of the High Court Rules.
The direction has been issued by the Registrar Judicial, Srinagar, in a circular, following an order passed by the High Court on July 30 in Criminal Appeal (S) No. 2 of 2026, Mohammad Akram Khan vs State, now Union Territory of J&K through VOK (now ACB).
According to the circular, the High Court observed that paper books prepared by the Registry were not conforming to the relevant provisions contained in Chapter X of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Rules, resulting in inconvenience to counsel appearing before the court.
Following the observation, the High Court directed the Registrar Judicials of both its Srinagar and Jammu wings to ensure that the provisions of Chapter X are strictly followed while preparing paper books for both civil and criminal matters.
In a significant administrative measure, the circular further directs the Assistant Registrar, Digitization Section, to personally supervise the preparation of every paper book before it is transmitted to the concerned advocates.
The circular makes it clear that any dereliction or deviation from the prescribed procedure will be dealt with strictly.
The annexure attached to the circular reproduces Chapter X of the High Court Rules, which lays down detailed procedures for preparation and distribution of case paper books.
The rules provide that paper books should contain material papers required for hearing and prescribe their formatting, including consecutive pagination, printing or typing on one side of the paper and numbering of every tenth line.
The paper book is divided into two parts, with Part I comprising principal pleadings, judgments and orders of subordinate courts, while Part II contains evidence, both oral and documentary.
For criminal appeals involving death sentences, the rules specifically require the charge-sheet, judgment and memorandum of appeal or reference in Part I, while the entire oral and documentary evidence is to form Part II.
The rules also require every paper book to carry an index or list of contents, with documents in Part II generally arranged chronologically.
The circular also reiterates provisions concerning printing, typing, translation, copies and charges associated with paper books. Under the rules, printing and typing in criminal matters is generally free of cost to parties, subject to the specified exception for appeals or revisions against acquittal filed by private complainants or parties.
The rules further prescribe that the Registrar determine the minimum number of copies required for a hearing, including copies for the court and parties entitled to receive them.
The latest circular effectively places greater responsibility on Registry officials to ensure that these procedural requirements are followed before case records reach advocates, following the inconvenience flagged by the High Court itself.
