The Supreme Court received 3,688 requests for adjournment from lawyers between September 1 and November 3 as soon as the cases were listed for hearing, compelling Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud to announce in open courtroom on Friday that he does not head a ‘tareekh-pe-tareekh court’.
The Chief Justice said the adjournment slips were circulated the moment the cases were listed following urgent mentioning by lawyers for early hearing.
Fresh cases are listed and heard on Mondays and Fridays, which are coined ‘miscellaneous days’, every week. The Chief Justice said an average of 154 adjournment letters were circulated every one of these two days since September.
The CJI said the court received 178 adjournment slips on November 3 alone.
The adjournment requests defeated the very purpose of the court expediting the filing and listing processes of cases, the top judge observed. The Chief Justice sought the “moral cooperation” of the lawyers.
The Chief Justice said an average of 59 cases were mentioned everyday by lawyers for early hearing between September 1 and November 3. The CJI said 2,361 cases were mentioned for early hearing from September 1.
“Cases are mentioned but adjourned the moment they come up for hearing… This presents a picture where matters are listed at an expedited rate… Matters are mentioned to be listed early, and on the contrary, adjournments are sought,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The CJI said lawyers should not seek adjournment unless it was “very, very necessary”.
“I do not want this to become a ‘tareekh-pe-tareekh’ court. We ultimately hold this court in trust for the citizens. How do we justify that 3,688 matters were adjourned in two months as soon as they got listed,” Chief Justice Chandrachud asked.
