B.R. Agarwala's Supreme Court Practice and Procedure

Thirteen years have gone by since the last edition appeared. Much has changed since then, both in the nature of litigation before the Court, and in its practice and procedure. The contents of the book have, therefore, undergone significant changes, both by way of additions and deletions. The 'basic structure ' of Agarwala 's work however remains undisturbed.

The book seeks to serve as a reliable guide and companion to the practitioner in the Supreme Court. In the words of Hon 'ble Justice J.M. Shelat, "...the Court has had to evolve its own practice and procedure relating to each of the different jurisdictions by means of Rules framed under Article 145 of the Constitution. These rules have not remained static. They had to be revised from time to time as the actual experience of their working and the exigencies demanded. The Rules have sometimes come up before the Court for their construction and elucidation. Opinions expressed by the Court on such occasions have more often than not been, by way of observations, scattered in different cases and rarely as distinct decisions by themselves. Consequently, such observations are not readily found unless they are collected together at one place. That is precisely what the author of this book has sought to do. The result of his labour is a handy, lucid work. The book falls into two parts; the first part deals with each of the different jurisdictions and the second deals separately with the Rules in respect of each of them. Such separate and distinctive treatment is, I believe, likely to be helpful to the Bar and particularly to the advocates-on-record."

Extract from the Foreword :

I am happy to write this foreword to the latest edition of B.R. Agarwala's well-known work 'Supreme Court Practice and Procedure', what has over the years become indispensable to those practicing in the Supreme Court, and those aspiring to become advocates-on-record. Like the changing Court, the book has changed. I am particularly happy to see new chapters on Public Interest Litigation, the Court 's jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution and the Court's jurisdiction to transfer cases under Article 139A of the Constitution, Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This new edition combines the rich experience of Shri Raju Ramachandran, both as a Senior Advocate of the Court and as an advocate-on-record earlier, and the fresh approach of a young advocate of the Court, Shri Gaurav Agrawal.

• Lawyer's Collective, Mumbai: To date, the only standard work on Supreme Court practice and procedure. It ably attempts to present an exposition of the rules of procedure applicable to practice in the Supreme Court.
  The book under review is mandatory reading, not only for all advocates on record, but also for policy makers and enforcement agencies, including judges.
• Journal of the Indian Law Institute: ...the book is a result of research and experience of the author who has not left untouched the current trends and developments in the working of the Supreme Court including public interest litigation. It is a good contribution to the field of constitutional jurisprudence.
• All India Reporter: This is a unique and most useful book on the subject. It is hoped that this book will serve as an excellent guide to the Bar and Bench as also to the Registry of the Supreme Court which has to apply and administer the Rules.
• Gujarat Law Reporter: The book is indispensable for those who have to deal with it in connection with the Supreme Court Practice. Subject Index and Table of Cases are also given exhaustively. The book will be found to be of much utility by the practitioner in the legal field.

TABLE OF CASES

Chapters

  I.    Introduction

II.     Writ Jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution: Extraordinar Original Jurisdiction

III.     Public Interest Litigation

IV.      Election of the President and Vice-President

 V.       Ordinary Original Jurisdiction: Proceedings under Article 131 of the Constitution

VI.       Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India

VII.      Extraordinary Appellate Jurisdiction: Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution

VIII.     Power of the Supreme Court to Review its Orders: Article 137 of the Constitution

IX.        Advisory Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution

 X.        Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to Transfer Cases

XI.      Powers of the Chief Justice of India under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

XII.     Contempt Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

XIII.    Removal and Suspension of Members of Public Service Commission’s: Article 317

XIV.     Costs

XV.       Miscellaneous Provisions

XVI.     Binding nature of Supreme Court decisions: Article 141 of the Constitution

XVII.    Power of the Supreme Court to do complete justice: Article 142

XVIII.   Enforcement of Orders of Supreme Court

APPENDICES

I.        Supreme Court Rules

II.      Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970

III.    Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975

IV.    Regulations Regarding Advocates-on-Record Examination

V.      Division of Work in Judicial Sections

VI.   List of Subject Categories

VII.  Checklist for scrutiny of matters circulated by the Registry of the Supreme Court of India

VIII.  Practice directions issued by the Supreme Court

SUBJECT INDEX