Sheo Kinkar Singh vs State Of U.P. And 2 Others

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - C No. - 31056 of 2026
Sheo Kinkar Singh
…..Petitioner(s)
Versus
State of U.P. and 2 others
…..Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Sheo Kinkar Singh, Suryaprakash
Sharma
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C., Chandan Sharma, Vijay
Bahadur Maurya
Reserved on 24.09.2026
Delivered on 28.10.2026
Court No. - 1
HON'BLE AJIT KUMAR, J.
HON'BLE GARIMA PRASHAD, J.
1. Heard Sri Surya Prakash Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioner,
Sri Ashish Mishra along with Sri Chandan Sharma, who had been
directed to appear on behalf of the High Court.
2. The controversy arose when, during scrutiny of the present petition,
the prayer clause, which had been typed in italics, was not reported as a
defect. The issue was not confined to the present petition, as similar
inconsistencies in font, font size, spacing and the use of bold and italic
type had been noticed in several matters. The Court accordingly called
for an explanation from the officials of the Stamp Reporting Section and
also sought the relevant Rules or administrative directions governing

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these aspects and the margins to be maintained in pleadings presented
before this Court.
3. On 6 August 2026, the Review Officer, who had scrutinised the
petition, submitted a written explanation stating that the italicised prayer
could not be reported as a defect in the absence of any direction treating
it as such. This Court, therefore, called upon the Registrar General to
place before it the Rules or directives, if any, governing the font,
spacing, signs and margins of petitions presented before the Court. The
Court also noted that there was no prescribed requirement concerning
headers, footers or bold lettering.
4. The Registrar General has placed the report before us. Upon
examination of the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952, the report states
that Rule 2 of Chapter XIII, relating to the paper-book in a First Appeal,
prescribes double spacing. The provision is reproduced below:
“ 2. The paper-book in a First Appeal shall, unless otherwise
directed by the Chief Justice, be either type-written or cyclostyled
on one side of stout full scape paper with double spacing and
consist of a fly-leaf, an index and copies, transliterations or
translations of the following papers, namely-
(a) Plaint;
(b) Written statement;
(c) Further pleadings, if any;
(d) Statements of parties or their pleaders recorded under Rules 1
and 2 of Order X of the Code;
(e) Judgment under appeal;
(f) Decree under appeal;
(g) Memorandum of appeal;

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(h) Such evidence, oral or documentary or other papers as the
appellant may wish to refer to;
(i) Memorandum of cross-objection, if any; and
(j) Such other evidence, oral or documentary or other papers as the
respondent may wish to refer to;
Provided that papers in Hindi written in Devanagri script shall not
be translated;
Provided further that documents in Urdu shall be transliterated in
Devanagri script.”
5. On the question of margins, the report stated that the requirement of
maintaining quarter margins is prescribed by Rule 6 and sub-rule (4) of
Rule 11 of Chapter IX of the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952. The
provisions were reproduced as follows:
“ Rule 6. Water-marked paper to be used.- Every memorandum of
appeal or objection or application shall be fairly and legibly
written or type-written, lithographed or printed with quarter
margin on one side only of Government water-marked paper;
Provided that the Court may, when considered necessary, permit
any other paper of full scape or both sides of the paper to be used
for the purpose.”
“ Rule 11. Memorandum of appeal or objection or application to
be accompanied by copies thereof :- (1) Every memorandum of
appeal or objection and every application shall be accompanied by
as many typed copies thereof as there may be parties to be served,
together with -
(i) two extra copies in a Division Bench case, [to be supplied at
once,] and

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(ii) one extra copy in every other case:
Provided that it shall not be necessary to supply copies for service
on the parties until the Court has ordered notice to issue:
It shall be deemed to be sufficient compliance with this Rule if the
person presenting the memorandum or application gives a written
undertaking to supply the necessary copies within four days of its
admission. Such copies shall be certified to be correct by the party
supplying them or his Advocate:
Provided further that in every Division Bench case an extra copy
of all the documents (including judgments or orders appealed
against) duly certified to be correct by the appellant or his counsel,
as the case may be, shall also be filed for the use of the Court
along with the memorandum of appeal, objection or application. It
shall not, however, be necessary to supply an extra copy of the
decree or formal orders.
(2) If the requisite copies are not supplied within such time or
within such further time as may, for sufficient cause shown, be
allowed by the Registrar General, the memorandum or application
shall be listed for rejection before the Court.
(3) No order shall issue from the Court on such memorandum or
application until the required copies have been supplied.
(4) The copies shall be fairly and legibly written or type written,
lithographed or printed with quarter margin on one side of durable
paper;
Provided that the Court may, when considered necessary, permit
any other paper of full scape or both sides of the paper to be used
for the purpose.” (emphasis added)

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6. On the question of typing font, the report stated that there was no
specific provision in the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 prescribing
the typing font to be used while drafting petitions or other pleadings
presented before the Hon’ble Court could be found.
7. The report then referred to the Instructions for Electronic Filing (e-
Filing) in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and reproduced
clauses 2.1 and 2.2 as follows:
“ 2.1 The original text material, documents, notice of motion,
memorandum of parties, main petition or appeal, annexures as the
case may be, and interlocutory applications etc. will be prepared
electronically using MS Word or Open Office, or any other word
processor. The formatting style of the text will be as under:
Paper size: Legal (8.05” X 14”)
Margins:
Top: 1.5”
Bottom: 1”
Left: 1.75”
Right: 0.5”
Justification: Full
Font: English (Arial, size: 12)
Hindi (any unicode font, font size: 14)
Line spacing: Double
2.2 Where the document is not a text document and has to be
enclosed with the petition, appeal or application or other pleadings
as an annexure, it should be scanned as black & white, at a
resolution of 300 dpi (dot per inch) and saved as a PDF
document.”

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8. Thus, the report discloses that, save for the limited provisions relating
to double spacing in a First Appeal paper-book, quarter margins in the
matters governed by Chapter IX, and the formatting requirements
contained in the e-Filing Instructions, there is no uniform prescription
applicable alike to physical and electronic filings regarding font, font
size, line spacing, or the use of bold and italic type. No Rule, judgment,
guideline or circular laying down such a uniform prescription has been
issued or passed by the Full Court, the Administrative Committee or the
Hon’ble Chief Justice.
9. We have noticed in several cases that petitions and other pleadings are
being filed in different fonts and font sizes, with inconsistent spacing and
indiscriminate use of bold and italic type. The lack of uniformity affects
readability and the orderly presentation of the record. It has, therefore,
become necessary to issue directions in this regard so as to bring
uniformity in the manner in which pleadings are presented before the
Court.
10. Accordingly, the following directions are issued to govern the filing
of petitions, appeals, applications and revisions before this Court:
(i) These directions shall apply equally to physical filings.
(ii) The typed text of every petition, affidavit, counter affidavit,
rejoinder affidavit, reply, application and all other pleadings
prepared in English shall be in Times New Roman, size 14, with
double line spacing. Pleadings prepared in Hindi shall continue to
be in a Unicode font, size 14, with double line spacing.
(iii) Bold type shall be used only for the marking or description of
annexures in the pleadings and in the index. No other part of a
pleading shall be set in bold type.

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(iv) Italic type may be used only for extracts reproduced in a
pleading and for references to courts or statutory provisions. The
prayer or relief clause shall not be italicised. Italic type shall not
be used elsewhere.
(v) The requirements relating to margins under the applicable
Rules and the Instructions for Electronic Filing shall continue to
be observed in petitions, applications, appeals and revisions.
11. The Registrar General shall circulate this order forthwith to all filing
and scrutiny sections at the Principal Seat of the High Court at Allahabad
as well as its Lucknow Bench and shall ensure that these directions are
brought to the notice of the Bar. The respective Stamp Reporting
Sections shall scrutinise filings in accordance with these directions w.e.f.
th
12 November, 2026.
Writ No. 31056 of 2026
12. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner seeks
correction of the house-tax assessment and demand raised by respondent
Nos. 2 and 3 in respect of House No. 05/1119, Mohalla Shaha urf Peepal
Gaon, Phase 1, Ward 5, Zone 6, Prayagraj. It is submitted that the
petitioner has already made a representation dated 14 July 2026 and
confines the relief sought in this petition to a direction for its decision.
13. It appears from the record that the petitioner has already represented
the matter to the respondent authority by application dated 14 July 2026,
which is still pending consideration.
14. Learned Standing Counsel submits that he has no objection in the
event this petition stands disposed of with a direction to the authority
concerned to look into and consider the grievance of the petitioner and
pass an appropriate order strictly in accordance with law.

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15. In view of the above, this petition stands disposed of with a direction
that the authority concerned, respondent No. 2, Nagar Ayukt, Nagar
Nigam, Prayagraj, shall consider the grievance of the petitioner raised in
his application/representation and decide the same within a period of two
months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
Needless to add, the order to be passed by the competent authority, as
directed hereinabove, shall be a reasoned and speaking order.
(Garima Prashad,J.) (Ajit Kumar,J.)
October 28, 2026
Sachin Mishra
Digitally signed by :-
SACHIN MISHRA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad