Supreme Court: While hearing a petition arising out of an impugned Bombay High Court judgment, the 3-Judge Bench of Surya Kant, S.V. N. Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi, JJ., directed the Registry to not clear any paper-book for listing where black and white photographs are appended.
The Court further stated that directions should be circulated within the AORs that unless proper coloured photographs, along with distance dimensions and supported by a conceptual plan, are appended, no such material shall be allowed to be placed on record, and the matter will remain in the list of ‘defects not cured’ till further orders.
It was further directed that if photographs so appended with the paper-book are filed through e-mail or e-filed, then the AORs must simultaneously submit hard copies of the coloured photographs as well.
With the afore-stated directions, the Court adjourned the matter till 9-1-2026.
[Dinamati Gomes v. State of Goa, Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).7944/2024, order dated 21-11-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioner(s): Mr. Shoeb Alam, Sr. Adv. Mr. M. De Souza, Adv. Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Mr. Parijat Kishore, AOR Mr. Raghav Sharma, Adv. Ms. Manisha Gupta, Adv. Ms. Moulishree Pathak, Adv. Mr. Ujjawal Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Jaskirat Pal Singh, Adv.
For Respondent(s): Mr. Dhruv Mehta, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ninad Laud, Adv. Mr. Keith Varghese, Adv. Mr. Guruprasad Naik, Adv. Mr. Dcosta Ivo Manuel Simon, AOR Mr. Abhay Anil Anturkar, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Tank, Adv. Ms. Surbhi Kapoor, AOR Mr. Sarthak Mehrotra, Adv. Mr. Bhagwant Deshpande, Adv. Ms. Subhi Pastor, Adv. Mr. Abhay Singh, AOR
Should an image be in colour or black-and-white? Coloured photographs versus black and white photographs is a serious debate. To this day, many photographers choose to work exclusively in black and white, or colour and shun the other. But the fact of the matter is, each technique provides unique opportunities for artists to evoke different emotions from the viewer. Colours can scream with vibrancy or whisper subtle moods, while monochrome can distill a scene to its raw forms and feelings. The decision of the Supreme Court in a petition arising out of an impugned Bombay High Court judgment, instructing the Registry to not clear any paper-book for listing where black and white photographs are appended is significant. As the technology advances, colour photographs play a vital role in making things clearer. It is noteworthy that the Court also stated that directions should be circulated among the AOR community that unless proper coloured photographs, along with distance dimensions and supported by a conceptual plan, are appended, no such material shall be allowed to be placed on record, and the matter will remain in the list of ‘defects not cured’ till further orders. The Court also directed that if photographs so appended with the paper-book are filed through e-mail or e-filed, then the AORs must submit hard copies of the coloured photographs too. Since the technology is easily available, readily accessible and affordable, it is a welcome direction to use coloured photographs. It is a new technical development in terms of quality of images and pictures to be submitted to the Court.