'A synopsis can't run into 128 pages': Supreme Court emphasises on brevity

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has emphasised on the concepts of brevity and succinctness by directing its own Registrar (Judicial) to take note that filing of the petitions before it was in a proper format.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah expressed its surprise after coming across the 128-page synopsis of a petition filed by a woman in a case arising out of a matrimonial dispute.

"The appellant, who has appeared in person, has filed a synopsis running into 128 pages, loaded with details much of which is not relevant for our purposes. We understand that the appellant is not a trained lawyer, but it is for the Registry to have asked the appellant to trim down the synopsis. A synopsis cannot run into 128 pages!," the bench said in its order on December 17.

After hearing the woman in person, the court dismissed her plea against the Allahabad High Court's order of 2019 sending her plea for maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code to be decided on merits by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Agra.

The bench noted in the present case, on the past few dates, the appellant has taken this court to the long history of the case.

The appellant was married to the respondent in the year 2006 and later she was successful in getting a decree of divorce on ground of cruelty in the year 2016.

However, she challenged the Allahabad High Court's remanding her plea for maintenance to the family court.

"We see absolutely no reason as to why we should interfere with the impugned order. The said order is in favour of the appellant and moreover it only directed the Family Court Agra to adjudicate the matter afresh which was earlier dismissed by the Family Court, Agra for non-prosecution. The appellant instead of appearing before the Family Court, Agra has directly challenged this order of the High Court before this Court, which we think is not proper," the bench opined.