The judgements of the Supreme Court of India are given for reference, sortable by date, judge, section/rule, IPC section etc. The amendments of 2016 has created a mess in the referencing since the numbering in Section 3 has been changed. There is avoidable confusion regarding Sections, for instance Section 3(1)(i) – does it mean the Roman numeral (original Act) or the English alphabet (2016 amendment)? Some judges have taken to using Arabic numerals in place of the Roman [so Section 3(1)(15) by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Hima Kholi], or referring to the original numbers as Section 3(3) [So Section 3(3)(10) by Justice L Nageswara Rao].

These are innovative workarounds what is essentially poor craft by the union government. Till such time there is a common standard of reference, we will use the contemporary numbering format. The reader is advised caution in interpreting the sections. As a general rule, the sections invoked for crimes committed before 26 January 2016 will be using the original numbering format.

Feedback is welcome on better ways of organising this data.

Volunteers are requested for acquiring similar data from the high courts.

We will update on the new section numbering for the BS laws once the supremes weigh in on a case which uses it.