MUMBAI: Bombay HC replaces foolscap with A4 size papers for pleadings, petitions across courts – Times of India

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday replaced foolscap size paper with A4 size for all its internal communications as well as the paper for filing, pleadings petitions, affidavits, other documents, in all its benches and in all courts across the State.
The move ushers in uniformity, saves paper, and is thus environmentally friendly as well, as sought by public interest litigation (PIL) filed this year by a lawyer.
The PIL by advocate Ajinkya Udane sought orders to introduce the ‘A4’ size papers and ease out the longer green ledger foolscap papers currently used. He and his lawyers P R Katneshwarkar had cited the introduction of the A4 size papers by a few other high courts already.
Advocate Sudeep Nargolkar appearing for the HC registrar general informed a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni placed a notification of July 6 and the latest July 14 circular too.
The circular said, to bring in “uniformity about use of paper in day-to-day working on the administrative side, to minimize consumption and consequently to save the environment, the Chief Justice and Bombay HC Judges’’ have directed the registry to henceforth use A4 size paper (on both sides) for internal communication, at all levels.
It said that for all pleadings, affidavits, petitions filed in the registry on the judicial side in the HC principal bench and all its benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Goa and “all other courts in the state’’ the paper to be used is “superior quality A4 size having not less than 75 GSM with printing on both sides with Font—Times new roman or Georgia and font size 14 with an inner margin of 5 cm and outer margin of 3 cm.’’
Earlier it was not mandatory to have printing on both sides. That has changed now. The circular does not mention any specific colour for the A4 size papers which is usually white in colour.
The HC then said in its order, “with the issuance of Gazette notification, amending the Appellate Side and Original Side Rules of this Court, user of A-4 size paper with printing on both sides has been permitted. Thus, the primary grievance voiced in this writ petition by the petitioner stands redressed.”
The HC disposing of the petition, permitted Udane to make suitable representation to the Registrar General of the Court in regard to the introduction of a similar facility in the district judiciary.