Supreme Court's New Directive: Urgent Matters Must Be Presented to Chief Justice Only

Supreme Court's New Protocol for Urgent Cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has introduced a crucial procedural change, stating that only the Chief Justice of India can be approached for 'exceptionally urgent matters' that cannot wait for the standard listing process, even if he is engaged in presiding over a constitution bench.

Typically, urgent issues are brought before the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court when the Chief Justice is unavailable or occupied with a constitution bench.

In a circular released on April 6, the Supreme Court clarified, 'The mentioning of exceptionally urgent matters, which cannot wait for listing as per the circular dated November 29, 2025, is allowed before Court No 1, even when the Hon'ble Chief Justice is presiding over a constitution bench.'

The circular further emphasized that such urgent matters should not be mentioned before any other bench.