Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 2: Justice MR Shah of the Supreme Court stated on Friday that the Patna High Court has a very poor culture about case adjournments.
Justice Shah formerly held the position of Chief Justice of the Patna High Court before being promoted to the Supreme Court. He had firsthand exposure to the adjournment culture at that time, according to the judge.
“Patna has this worst adjournment culture. I have witnessed it, been its victim. Lawyers keep asking to adjourn, what will the poor judges do,” he said.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of pointless adjournments.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli recently bemoaned the habit of attorneys asking for adjournments when they arrive in court without first preparing to present their argument. They said that this approach causes delays in the administration of justice.
The comments were made after the attorney for a prisoner who had been incarcerated for more than eleven years requested an adjournment due to the absence of the opposing counsel.
“Read the papers [of the case]. Sometimes lawyers are only obstructing justice. We read briefs and hear till 5 pm, you cannot read in 5 minutes and argue your case?” Justice Chandrachud had remarked.
The Chief Justice of India had earlier this year demanded a change in the way attorneys work in the Supreme Court and asked them to recognise the value of the Court’s time.
When a lawyer who was in front of him requested an adjournment in a case, he had made the statement.
