Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli sat for nearly 10 hours in a marathon session to hear nearly 90 cases which came up before their Bench in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The court sat till 9.10 p.m.
The judges said they did not want any litigant whose case was listed before them to go unheard on the last working day before the court closed for Dasara holidays.
So, cases from anticipatory bail to public interest petitions to even a case by the Bihar Cricket Association saw the judges bat bravely through the day, only taking short breaks for refreshments.
Justice Chandrachud was seen sipping tea from a cup while hearing cases.
"I told home not to wait up for me. My sister [J. Kohli] and I intend to finish every case on the board before us. We have a heavy board… Let's start," Justice Chandrachud, who is slated to be the next Chief Justice of India as per seniority norm, said as soon as the Bench assembled for the day's work in the morning.
Before rising, the judges made a point to thank the court staff, each one by name, and the lawyers for cooperating with them.
"We wish you happy holidays," Justice Chandrachud said.
Justice Lalit, the current Chief Justice, had recently assembled an hour before court hours began at 10.30 a.m.
When asked, he said "if children can go to school as early as 7.30 a.m., judges can start work by 9".
The Supreme Court has been in the news in the past for keeping long or unusual hours. It has sat at midnight to hear Yakub Memon's plea just hours before his execution for the Bombay blasts case. The court has also sat in the wee hours in the Karnataka Assembly floor test matter.
The normal court hours are between 10.30 a.m. and 4 p.m. But that's not the golden rule for judges who can go the extra mile to trim pendency.
