• By Santosh Kumar Dayal

• 28 February 2026

• Court Practice

What to Expect When Your Matter Is Listed

Clients often ask me what happens on the day their matter is listed before the High Court. The honest answer is that the hearing is only the visible tip of the work. Preparation begins long before the matter is called—complete pleadings, organised documents, a concise note of arguments, and clarity on the precise prayer before the Court.

At the High Court, matters move on listing. When your case appears, the Court expects counsel to be ready with brief facts, the nature of the order under challenge, the legal proposition, and the interim or final relief sought. Wandering narratives waste the Court’s time and weaken the client’s cause. I therefore prepare every matter as if it may be heard fully that very day—because sometimes it is.

For the litigant, presence in Court can be useful, but it is not always necessary. What is always necessary is that you have given your counsel complete and truthful instructions in advance. Last-minute revelations in the corridor outside Court create avoidable risk. If a new document or fact has come to light, inform counsel as soon as you know—not on the morning of the hearing.

I also tell clients not to judge a day’s work only by whether final relief was granted. Sometimes the Court issues notice, grants interim stay, calls for a counter affidavit, or adjourns for a connected record. Each of these steps can be strategically important. Calm presence and disciplined advocacy serve a litigant far better than anxiety, arguments with the opposite party in the gallery, or pressure on counsel to “say everything” in one breath.

If your matter is listed, trust the preparation we have done together. Come with the original documents if asked, listen carefully, and leave the advocacy to your counsel. That is how High Court practice works best—for the Court, for the counsel, and above all for the justice of your case.