ORDER XLIV

1THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1978 1THE SUPREME COURT RULES, 1978. PART VIII MISCELLANEOUS ORDER XLIV DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS. 1 There shall be an index of the records in every case in the form prescribed below: Index of papers in Civil Appeal No of (or Criminal Appeal No . or petition No . or suit No .) CAUSE TITLE. Serial No. Date of filing the paper in the record. Description of paper. No. of the part to which it belongs. Remarks 2. The record in each case shall be divided into two parts. Part I to be preserved permanently and Part II to be preserved for a period of three years. 3. Each paper, as and when it is filed in the record, shall be numbered and entered in the Index and classified under the appropriate part to which it belongs. 4. The period for which any particular record is to be preserved shall be reckoned from the date of the final decree or order in the proceeding to which the record belongs, and in case a review is filed against the decree or order, from the date of the final decree or order made on review. In the case of registers, the period shall be reckoned from the date of the last entry in the Registry. 5. The Registrar may direct that any paper assigned to Part II be transferred to Part 1 for being preserved permanently. 6. Records which do not fall under Part I or Part II as classified below shall be referred to the Registrar who shall decide the part under which they should be included. 7. When any record is ripe for destruction, it shall either be burnt or sold as waste-paper, as the Registrar may in his discretion direct. 8. Where the record is sold as waste-paper, the sale proceeds shall be credited to Government. 9. As soon as a record is destroyed, a note shall be made in the Index against the record showing that it has been destroyed and the date of destruction. PART I The following papers shall be included under Part. I to be preserved permanently: 1. Index. 2. Judgment. 3. Decree or Order. 4. Order for Costs. 5. Pleadings (plaint, written statement, set-off and counter-claim). 6. Authenticated copy of the typed / cyclostyled record 7. Petition of appeal. 8. Concise statement. 9. Original petitions, including special leave petitions. 10 Interlocutory applications, other than applications for condonation of delay and other formal applications. 11. Orders on petitions. 12. References received under section of the Constitution. 13. Memorandum of compromise. 14. Title deeds, if any, remaining unreturned to any party. 15. Any other records or papers which the Registrar may direct to be included Registers. 1 Minutes Books. 2. Registers of suits, civil and criminal appeals, special leave petitions, special references and miscellaneous petitions and matters. 3. Rolls of Senior Advocates/Advocates and enrollment files. PART II The following papers shall be included in Part II and shall be destroyed after a period of three years as indicated below: 1. Powers of Attorney Advocate on record and memo of appearance. 2. Affidavits 3. Applications of condonation of delay and such other formal applications. 4. Correspondence in cases, 5. Unclaimed documents filed by parties, other than title deeds, 6. Office notices in the case files. Register, files and Miscellaneous. 7 Taxation files including bills of costs, 8. Register of bills of costs. 9. Despatch Registers. 10. Surplus copies of typed/cyclostyled record and of pleadings and petitions. 11. Copies of summons and notices. 12. Copying Register.