[Backlog Of Cases] Allahabad HC Urges Counsels To Avoid Seeking Adjournments, Citing Multiple Case Laws On A Single Point

The Court also urged all the Counsels appearing before the Court to contribute to the swift dispensation of justice by minimizing the nonproductive use of the Court's time by reducing adjournment requests and refraining from objecting to proceedings in their absence, especially when another counsel is available to take notes.

Importantly, the Court also added that the precious time of the Court could be better utilized if the Counsels refrain from citing multiple case-laws on a single point.

“The same old practices will continue to produce the same old results but as the society needs faster disposal of matters, all of us should change our practices to produce better results,” the Court further remarked.

The Court also underscored that the Judges and the Advocates are the wheels of a chariot and hence, to enhance the speed of this chariot, the other wheels of the chariot, i.e. the Advocates should also change gears and assist the Courts more efficiently in order to enhance the speed of dispensation of justice in the Courts

The occasion to make the observation arose while a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi was hearing an application for a stay on conviction (for voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant) filed by former Rajyasabha Member Banwari Lal Kanchhal.

Essentially, during the hearing, one of the interveners' counsel's requested a Passover for some time as he was busy in some other Court, however, the Court declined the request and started hearing submissions of the Counsel for the applicant in the presence of the other Counsel for the interveners and the Government Advocate

To this, a serious objection was taken against the hearing having commenced in the absence of one of the Counsel and it was said that it has been the normal practice of this Court to accommodate Advocates.

In response to this, the Court referred to the pendency of the cases before the HC and stressed that the advocates should not seek unnecessary adjournments more so when another counsel is available to take notes and that no delay should happen for unproductive reasons.

The Court added that while it is true that in the past the Courts were more liberal in granting adjournments and even presently the Courts normally accommodate Advocates, however, the changing scenario of the entire judicial system could not be overlooked.

The Court further observed that the workload is ever-increasing and the HC has not less than 150 matters listed before it on any single day, several of those are not taken up due to paucity of time and the practice of passing over the matters due to engagement of the Counsel elsewhere.

“The practice of passing over the matters due to engagement of the learned Counsel elsewhere has also played its bit in increasing pendency of the cases as every such request consumes at least a minute or two and in case such requests are accepted in numerous matters, it would result in a considerable waste of time, because every minute of the Court is precious and should be used productively,” the Court cautioned the advocates.

Specifying that the Allahabad High Court is generally talked about for its highest pendency, which stood at 10,60,451 (on November 28), out of which, 4,96,876 cases are of criminal nature, the Court added that the average number of cases decided per Judge of the Court per year is the maximum in the Country.

With this, the Court allowed the application for a stay on conviction noting that his age, and the fact that he has been a leader of the traders, a former member of Rajya Sabha and a former member of the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh.

The Court also noted that he is a life member of an educational society and his membership is sought to be terminated because of his conviction for the offences under Section 332 I.P.C. and 506 I.P.C. alleging that those offences involve moral turpitude, whereas in some of the cases noted above, even the offence of murder has been treated to be an offence not involving moral turpitude.

In view of this, the applicant's conviction was stayed.

In related news, in May this year, the Supreme Court directed the Registrar of the Allahabad High Court to forthwith file a report on status of a criminal appeal filed in 2014 that has been awaiting pronouncement by the High Court since August 2022.

Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that he doesn't want the Supreme Court to be called a 'tareekh-pe-tareekh' court. CJI also highlighted the 'irony' of lawyers seeking adjournment of the very same matters which were urgently listed on their request.

Case title - Banwari Lal Kanchhal vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. /Prin. Secy. Home Lko 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 463

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 463

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