Four ways to find a matter, ten words that describe where it stands, and the difference between a record and a rumour.
Case status is the court's own running record of a matter: the parties, the bench, the last order, the stage, and the next date. Every matter can be found by CNR, by case number, by party name or by the advocate on record — each route answers a slightly different question.
Everyone starts with whatever they happen to have. It helps to know in advance what that choice will cost you.
| Route | What you need | What you get back | When it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNR | The 16-character identifier allotted to the matter on registration. | Exactly one matter — the right one, every time. | Only when you do not have it yet. Once you do, it never goes stale. |
| Case number | The number, the year, and the court in which it is registered. | One matter within that court. | On renumbering, on transfer, and when a filing number is mistaken for a registration number. |
| Party name | A name, and ideally the court and a rough year. | Several matters, one of which is probably yours. | Spelling variants, expanded initials, common surnames, and departments that appear under many forms. |
| Advocate name | The name as recorded on the vakalatnama, sometimes with a bar registration number. | A portfolio — every matter recorded against that advocate. | Where you are not the advocate on record, or where the name is typed differently in different matters. |
The pattern is worth stating once: the exact routes need something you have to obtain, and the easy routes return something you have to sift. The sensible habit is to find a matter once by name, note its CNR, and use the identifier from then on.
The status line is written for the court office, not for the reader. These are the words it uses and what each of them means for the matter.
The matter is alive on the record but has not been placed on a bench's board for a particular day. It is waiting for a date, not for an order.
The bench started hearing the matter and did not finish. It normally returns before the same bench, and it is usually taken up early on the day it is next listed.
Argument is over, or a limited question is before the bench, and what remains is the pronouncement of an order rather than further hearing.
The bench has heard the matter fully and kept judgment. Nothing further is expected from counsel until the judgment is pronounced, which may be weeks later.
The court has finished with the matter at that level — by judgment, withdrawal, settlement, abatement or dismissal. Disposal by itself says nothing about who won.
The court office has objected to the filing on a formal ground: a missing annexure, an unsigned affidavit, a shortfall in court fee. Until it is cured, the matter is not properly numbered.
The matter has been linked to another raising the same question, so both are listed together and often decided by a common order. Your date now follows the lead matter.
The matter is pending but is not on the board for that day. It is a statement about a single day, not about the health of the case. Check the cause list for the day you care about.
Nobody appeared and no steps were taken, so the matter was dismissed without any decision on merits. This is the outcome that a missed listing produces.
A matter earlier dismissed for default has been brought back on the file. It continues from where it stopped, and the record shows the gap.
The matter has moved to another court or another bench. The case number can change with the move; the CNR generally does not.
Vakalatnama, caveat, interlocutory application, condonation of delay and the rest are set out in the Indian legal glossary.
किसी भी मुकदमे की स्थिति (case status) मुख्य रूप से तीन तरीकों से देखी जाती है।
पहला — सीएनआर (CNR) से। हर मुकदमे को एक सोलह अक्षरों का स्थायी नंबर मिलता है, जो दाखिल होने पर दिया जाता है और बदलता नहीं। यह नंबर दाखिले की रसीद, वकालतनामे के साथ लगे कागज़ या आदेश-पत्र (order sheet) पर मिल जाता है। यही सबसे भरोसेमंद तरीका है।
दूसरा — केस नंबर (case number) और साल से। इसके साथ अदालत का नाम भी ज़रूरी है, क्योंकि एक ही नंबर अलग-अलग अदालतों में अलग-अलग मुकदमों का हो सकता है।
तीसरा — पक्षकार के नाम (party name) से। यह सबसे आसान तरीका है और सबसे कम सटीक भी — नाम की वर्तनी अलग हो सकती है और मिलते-जुलते नाम कई निकल आते हैं। एक बार मुकदमा मिल जाए तो उसका सीएनआर लिख लेना बेहतर है।
Lawgger दस भारतीय भाषाओं में काम करता है।
Case status is standing. It describes where a matter has got to, and it changes only when something happens — an order, a filing, an objection cured. It can sit unchanged for months and still be perfectly accurate.
The cause list is momentary. It says what a court will take up on one particular working day, and it is settled the evening before. A matter with a healthy status may not be on any list this week, and a matter that appears on tomorrow's list tells you nothing about what the last order said.
The display board is narrower still. It shows the item a bench is on right now, during court hours. Ask each source only its own question and the picture stays straight; ask the wrong one and you will get a confident answer to something you did not ask.
Reading a status line is a skill. Not having to read one is better.
Add a matter once with its CNR and it stays watched — every listing, every order, every change of stage attaches to the same thread. How case tracking works.
Instead of a scanned order sheet you get the substance: interim stay granted; counter due in four weeks. The full order is there underneath when you want it.
The next date does not sit in a status field waiting to be checked. It lands in the matter, on the calendar, with a reminder attached.
Twenty-one statutory limitation clocks, rolled past weekends, gazetted holidays and court vacations, with section 5 condonation flagged. See the limitation calculator.
Clerks, juniors and partners work from one record, with tasks, billing and invoices attached. That is the practice suite.
This is a marketing page. It carries no live court record and offers no public status lookup. Live matters sit in the app, behind your login.
Lawgger is software for advocates. It is not a law firm and gives no legal advice.
There are four routes: the CNR, which identifies one matter exactly; the case number with its year and court; the party name; and the advocate on record. The CNR is the most reliable because it never changes. Party-name search is the easiest to start with and the least precise, because names are typed by hand and vary between documents.
A case number is the number a court gives a matter on registration, and it makes sense only together with the year and the court. A CNR is a 16-character identifier that belongs to one matter permanently, across renumbering and transfer within that court. Two courts can both have a Writ Petition 415 of 2024. No two matters share a CNR.
You can, and it is often how a litigant starts. Expect several results and expect to sift them. Spellings differ between the plaint and the memo of parties, initials are expanded inconsistently, and government departments appear under many forms. Use party name to find the matter once, then note the CNR so that every later check is exact.
Disposed means the court has finished with the matter at that level. It covers judgment on merits, withdrawal, settlement, abatement and dismissal alike, so disposal by itself says nothing about who won. To know what actually happened you have to read the final order, not the status word.
Defective means the court office has raised an objection to the filing on a formal ground — a missing annexure, an unsigned affidavit, an incorrect court fee, a limitation objection to be explained. The matter is not numbered as a proper case until the objection is cured, and time keeps running while it sits there.
Usually because the order of the last hearing has not been uploaded yet, so the record has nothing to show. It can also mean the matter is reserved for judgment, is awaiting listing after an objection on filing, or was adjourned to a date to be notified. A blank next date is a gap in the record, not a decision.
Yes. District and subordinate courts maintain the same kind of record, with the same identifiers and largely the same vocabulary. Lawgger tracks matters across around 700 district courts in 722 districts, alongside the Supreme Court, all 25 High Courts and the tribunals, so a mixed practice reads one record rather than several.
Teen tareeke hain. CNR se, jo sabse bharosemand hai kyunki wo kabhi nahi badalta. Case number aur saal se, adalat ke naam ke saath. Ya pakshkar ke naam se, jo aasan hai lekin kam sateek. Lawgger mein matter ek baar CNR se jodne par har agli tareekh apne aap dikhti hai, aur adesh ka matlab saral shabdon mein.
No. Case status is the standing record of a matter — parties, stage, last order, next date. The cause list is the schedule for one particular working day, published the evening before. A matter can be pending on the record for months without appearing on any list, and a listing tells you nothing about what the last order said.
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