The Supreme Court has ordered its registry to refrain from referring to trial courts as lower courts in any communication or reference. A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order.
The bench stated that even the record of the Trial Court should not be referred to as Lower Court Record (LCR). Instead, it should be referred to as the Trial Court Record. The Division Bench was hearing a criminal appeal against the conviction of appellants under Section 302 (murder) and Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
During the hearing, the Court asked the Registry for a soft copy of the Trial Court’s record. After recording this, in the present order, the top court also said that it will be appropriate if the Registry of this Court stops referring to the Trial Courts as Lower Courts. The Bench also directed the Registrar (Judicial) to take note of this order.
Earlier in November 2022, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud had also noted that the district courts should not be called subordinate courts and that all these courts play an integral role in the justice system. The Chief Justice of India had also said that the judges of the higher courts should change their mindset in how they perceive the district judiciary as subordinate judiciary.
Last month, the Supreme Court had passed a general order directing all the courts not to mention caste, religion of litigants in case papers. The court also directed that a copy of the order be placed before the concerned Registrar in order to ensure the immediate compliance of the directions. The Supreme Court added that the same shall be circulated to the Registrar General of all the High Courts. The bench comprising Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the order.