Short answer. Yes, at the court's discretion. Rule 129, Section 2 allows discretionary judicial notice of matters of public knowledge, matters capable of unquestionable demonstration, or matters a judge ought to know because of judicial functions — broader than the mandatory list, but left to the court's own judgment.
What the law says
A court may take judicial notice of matters which are of public knowledge, or are capable of unquestionable demonstration, or ought to be known to judges because of their judicial functions.
Rule 129, Section 2 — Judicial notice, when discretionary. Read the full provision →
Discretionary, unlike Section 1's mandatory list
Where Section 1 uses 'shall' for a fixed list of matters, Section 2 uses 'may' for a broader, open-ended category. This is discretionary judicial notice — the court is permitted, not required, to take notice of matters falling within this section's three categories. A fact of local common knowledge in a particular community, for example, might qualify here even though it would not appear on Section 1's fixed, mandatory list. This distinction matters practically: a party who wants the court to notice something outside Section 1's enumerated categories still has to persuade the court to exercise its discretion, rather than simply invoke a rule that leaves the judge no choice.
The three categories
The section covers matters of public knowledge, matters capable of unquestionable demonstration — facts that can be verified beyond dispute, such as through readily available and reliable references — and matters that ought to be known to judges because of their judicial functions, drawing on what a judge would reasonably be expected to know in that role. Distances between well-known places, standard calendar dates, or the meaning of common technical terms in an official reference source are the kinds of facts that typically fall under one or another of these three categories.
Why discretion, not obligation
Because these categories are broader and more variable than Section 1's fixed list, the rule leaves the call to the court rather than making it automatic. A judge weighs whether a given matter genuinely fits one of the three categories before dispensing with the need for a party to formally prove it. A judge invoking discretionary notice should be able to point to which of the three categories the matter actually falls under, rather than treating the discretion as unlimited. None of this obligates the court to notice a matter simply because a party asks it to; discretionary notice remains the judge's own call, and a party who wants certainty that a fact will be considered established is generally better served presenting actual proof rather than relying on the court choosing to exercise this discretion in their favor.