Won't let long arguments eat into poor litigants' time: CJI

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday announced enforcement of a new time distribution regime to equitably allocate judicial time for poor litigants.

"From January, there will be a time limit for each advocate to conclude his/her arguments. What is happening is absolutely unfair and unjustified. A poor litigant, who comes to the court for a motor accident claims case or for bail leaves the court disappointed as his case is not taken up because of these unending arguments from other advocates," the CJI said.


Judiciary is expected to bring a smile on every litigant's face: CJI

CJI made the remark while hearing a bunch of PILs challenging the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar and at a pan-India level. CJI Kant said some cases go on for days with unending arguments from (renowned senior) advocates and poor litigants who come to court on the scheduled date of hearing of their cases have to go back home disappointed as the cases are not taken up due to time constraints.

The step will redress the long-held lament that the "rich, powerful and influential" get ahead of other litigants by engaging high-profile lawyers and can hurt the "stars" among the legal fraternity who argue for hours, pushing others farther down " you are in the queue " list.

The resultant resentment is particularly directed against certain activist lawyers and chronic PIL petitioners who are known for rushing to SC with petitions over all sundry issues. The bar has long watched with dismay the refusal of benches to instantly accommodate such petitions being made a pretext to attack judges for "insensitivity".

Acknowledging that "privileged" treatment, to use the popular bar parlance, for celebrities is creating a disbalance in the justice delivery system, CJI Kant said, "There must be an equitable distribution of time. From January, every counsel will have to file a written submission and specify the time limit within which he/she must conclude his arguments. No adjournment would be granted by any court in SC in matters posted for final hearing."

The CJI narrated a poignant story of delayed justice. "A poor widow fought for 23 years to get compensation for the death of her husband on railway tracks. By the time SC finally granted her Rs 8 lakh compensation, she had lost hope in the system and in frustration vanished into oblivion. It took extra effort from a young counsel to trace her. It was found that she did not have a bank account, which was opened and the money was deposited." "The smile that was brought on her face after 23 years was worth the effort and that is what the judiciary is expected to do - bring a smile on every litigant's face with timely adjudication," CJI Kant said.
Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search