Rule 129A of the Patents Rules, 2003
Adjournment of hearing
Controls when a hearing before the Controller can be adjourned and puts firm limits on how often and for how long.
Official legal text
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Nothing here replaces the statute. The official wording of the provision, together with any Gazette notification that applies to it, governs. This page only explains that material in ordinary language.
What this rule requires, step by step
Hearings used to slip. A party would ask for a postponement on the eve of the date, then ask again, and a matter could drift for a year without a single argument being heard. Rule 129A was introduced to stop that. It keeps the ability to adjourn for a genuine reason while removing the ability to use adjournments as a delaying tactic.
The rule works through three controls. First, timing: a party that wants an adjournment must ask in advance, at least three days before the date fixed, rather than on the morning of the hearing. Second, substance: the request must state a reasonable cause, and it goes in with the prescribed fee, so an adjournment is a deliberate step rather than a casual message. Third, limits: no party is given more than two adjournments in a matter, and each adjournment is for no more than thirty days.
Those limits are the heart of the rule. Two adjournments of up to thirty days each is the ceiling per party, so the outer delay a party can create is bounded and predictable. Where both sides in a contested matter use their entitlement, the Controller can still keep the proceeding within a sensible span. Once a party has used its adjournments, the hearing will go ahead, and a party that is unprepared will have to argue as best it can.
What counts as a reasonable cause is judged sensibly. Illness of the person who was to argue, a clash with a listed court hearing, a death in the family, or the sudden unavailability of a key witness are the sorts of reasons that succeed. A request that simply says more time is needed to prepare, filed three days before a hearing that was notified weeks earlier, is much weaker.
The safest approach is to treat the hearing date as fixed from the moment the notice under Rule 129 arrives. Check counsel and witness availability at once, and if there is a genuine clash, apply immediately rather than waiting until the three-day boundary. An early, well-explained request is far more persuasive than one filed at the last permitted moment.
Why this rule matters
Applicants, patentees, opponents and their agents facing a hearing date they cannot keep.
As soon as a genuine clash or emergency makes the fixed hearing date impossible.
A controlled right to seek postponement, capped in number and duration, with a minimum notice period and a fee.
The hearing proceeds on the fixed date, or an order is made in the absence of the party that did not appear.
How it works in practice
Two clashes and one adjournment left
In a pre-grant opposition concerning a water purification cartridge, the Controller fixed a hearing for both sides. The opponent's counsel was listed the same morning in a High Court matter that had been part-heard, and she applied for an adjournment eight days before the date, attaching the court's cause list and paying the prescribed fee. The Controller granted a short adjournment within the thirty-day limit. Three weeks later the applicant's technical witness, who had flown in from Coimbatore, fell ill, and the applicant applied four days before the new date with a medical certificate. That request was also allowed. When the opponent later sought a further postponement because her instructing client was travelling, the Controller refused it, noting that travel was not a reasonable cause and that the matter had already moved twice. The hearing went ahead. Both sides had known the limits from the start and had planned their preparation accordingly.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- A request for adjournment must be made at least three days before the date fixed for the hearing.
- The request must state a reasonable cause and is accompanied by the prescribed fee.
- No party is granted more than two adjournments in a matter.
- Each adjournment is for a period of not more than thirty days.
- Illness, a listed court clash or a bereavement are the kinds of cause that succeed; needing more time usually is not.
- Once the entitlement is used, the hearing proceeds on the date fixed.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Emailing the office on the morning of the hearing to say you cannot attend. That is outside the three-day requirement.
- Assuming an adjournment request is automatically granted once the fee is paid. The Controller assesses the reason.
- Using an adjournment early for a weak reason and having nothing left when a genuine emergency arises.
- Not confirming that the adjournment has actually been granted, and missing the original date on the assumption that it has.
Connected provisions
The Patents Rules supply procedure and the Patents Act supplies power. This page covers the procedure, and the sections that give the Controller or the applicant the underlying right or duty are grouped separately so you can move between the two.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- An adjournment request must reach the Controller at least three days before the date fixed for the hearing.
- No more than two adjournments are granted to a party, and no single adjournment exceeds thirty days.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
Fees are prescribed in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. Because the Schedule is revised from time to time, and charges different amounts to different categories of applicant and for physical as against electronic filing, this page describes the fee without stating a figure. How Indian patent fees work.
Amendment history
What changed in this provision, newest first. Read the footnotes in the official consolidated text for the full record.
- 2016The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016The rule was inserted, limiting adjournments of a hearing before the Controller. A request must be made in good time, with reasons and the prescribed fee, and both the number of adjournments and their length are capped.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
Related judgments
No judgment summaries appear here yet. Our process requires a legal review of each case note before publication, covering the citation, the court and the point actually decided. Until a note for this provision has passed that check, the section stays empty rather than carrying unverified material. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 129A
How many times can a patent hearing be adjourned in India?
A party is not given more than two adjournments in the same matter, and no single adjournment runs beyond thirty days. That ceiling applies per party, so in a contested proceeding the overall delay is still bounded. The limits were introduced deliberately to stop hearings from drifting. Plan on the basis that the third request will be refused, and use your entitlement only where the reason is genuine and you can document it.
What is a reasonable cause for adjourning a Controller hearing?
Something outside the party's control that makes the date impossible: the illness of the person who was to argue or of a key witness, a bereavement, or a genuine clash with a listed court hearing that was fixed earlier. Attach proof, such as a medical certificate or a cause list. Reasons that are essentially about workload, wanting more preparation time, or client travel are much weaker, particularly where the hearing notice was issued well in advance under Rule 129.
Can I ask for an adjournment on the day of the hearing?
The rule requires the request at least three days before the date fixed, so a same-day request does not meet it. If a genuine emergency strikes within that window, tell the office immediately with whatever proof you have, and be prepared for the Controller to proceed anyway. If an order is passed in your absence, the route is an application under section 77 with Rule 130 to have the order set aside, which is harder and slower than appearing would have been.
Cannot attend your Patent Office hearing date?
MYCrave Consultancy files adjournment requests with the proof the Controller expects, and appears where a date cannot be moved.
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