Introspect, We Shall Mi Lord- During Vacation Time Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
Introspect, We Shall Mi Lord- During Vacation Time
Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
The inaugural proceedings were simple but impressive. They began at 9.45 a.m. on 28th Jan,1950, when the Judges of the Federal Court – Chief Justice Harilal J.Kania and Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar Mukherjea and S.R.Das – took their seats.
When US Supreme Court-,SCOTUS is sitting, public sessions begin promptly at 10 a.m. and conclude at noon, with occasional afternoon sessions scheduled as necessary. The UK Supreme Court which was inaugurated in 2008, sits at 09.45 am too to commence proceedings, though normal working hours are between 10.30 am to 16.30 hours. In the US and UK the subordinate courts or State Judiciary, commences proceedings at 09.00am ‘to retain the freshness in mind and body’.
Until the year 2000, the Union Budget was announced at 5 pm on the last working day of the month of February. This practice was inherited from the Colonial Era when the British Parliament would pass the budget in the noon followed by India in the evening of the day.It was done because of the time difference between the two nations. When there is evening in india, Britain experiences morning. Therefore the colonial government announced in the afternoon. By the time, it would be 28 or 29 February, UK would date 1 March
It was Mr.Yashwant Sinha then Finance Minister of India in the NDA government (led by BJP) of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who changed the ritual by announcing the 2001 Union Budget at 11 am.
On 25th April,2022, as one began to follow live, the SCOTUS sittings in two interesting cases, it was 10.00 am Washington time. The proceedings were brisk and the exchanges were sharp and crisp. In fact, there have been calls in US and UK for courts to alter their working hours as 9 to 5, which are universally acknowledged as one. But the legal fraternity has been resisting- judges and practitioners both – that ‘working hours’ is a misnomer as they work literally ‘24×7’. And it is a mind game,arduous and strenuous and would impact the quality of ‘Justice’. True?
Money Control points out ” Our honourable judges are obviously using their spare time fruitfully to ponder on what ails the nation. And the nation gives them enough spare time. Currently, the Supreme Court has 193 working days in a year, high courts 210 days and trial courts 245 days. The Supreme Court has five vacations in its annual calendar—a summer break of 45 days, winter break of 15 days and Holi vacation of one week. It closes for five days each for Dussehra and Diwali. There are about 73,000 cases pending before the Supreme Court and about 44 million in all the courts of India, up 19% since last year”.
The Summer Vacation of the Court will commence on Monday, the 23rd May, 2022 and the Court will resume its sitting on Monday, the 11th July, 2022. SCOTUS goes on vacation between July to October. The present incumbent Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in 1983- Mr Roberts wrote in 1983, despite “tales of woe” from purportedly overworked justices. These complaints “are enough to bring tears to the eyes”, he jeered. “[O]nly Supreme Court justices and schoolchildren are expected to and do take the entire summer off”. Indeed, other federal judges work throughout year, and nobody else in the federal government enjoys an annual quarter-year sabbatical. How do the justices spend their three months of summer break? After Roberts became Chief Justice on 29th Sept, 2005, now, for seventeen long years, he has forgotten all about it.
The Britishers instituted courts in India in 1860. Almost all judges were British nationals. It took a month to travel by ship. Thus two months lapsed in transit. And they took a month off ‘back home’, availing summer vacations.
Just a couple of recent happenings involving the same Supreme Court judge make interesting and instructive reading. Miffed over 78 adjournments granted by a lower court in Dehradun, the Supreme Court has directed it to complete the trial within six months in a 2014 case of cheating and forgery against three persons. Noting that the trial court has not moved an inch despite having taken cognisance of case almost seven years back, a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar directed the Investigating Officer to ensure that the witnesses are made available on the scheduled dates for being examined by the trial court. “We direct the trial court to ensure that the trial is concluded not later than six months from the date of receipt of the copy of this order. “We are required to issue this direction as we have noticed that the trial court, despite having taken cognizance almost seven years back, has not moved in the matter even an inch thereafter, including to frame charges, as may be necessary, despite 78 adjournments in the case,” the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar, said.
The second one, “ What is the point sitting in court from 10.30 am if lawyers seek adjournment, passover in all matters”, Justice AM Khanwilkar bemoaned. He was irritated by the fact that such requests were made in almost all cases listed before the bench headed by him on 21st April,2022 and he asked the Bar to introspect.
Well Milord, we shall surely introspect, but during vacation time!
( Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court)
