SPEEDY DISPOSAL
Bombay HC judge sits till 3.30am to clear backlog
Hears 122 Cases Before Going On Summer Break
Swati.Deshpande@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: 06.05.2018
After sitting till midnight recently to hear matters, Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla of the Bombay high court topped his own record on the HC’s last working day before summer vacation by rising only at 3.30am. The rush of mattersfor interim relief isusually high before the break, and his board had 134. He capped it at 122for theday anddidn’t risetill hehadheardthem all.
When JusticeKathawalla finally called it a day, it was the wee hours, when the only other place buzzing with similar energy in Mumbai is T2 of the international airport. He sat for
over 10 hours beyond the regular court closing time of 5pm, making it three court days in oneto prevent a backlog pile-up. The judicial hours in HC are from 11am to 5pm, with a onehour lunch break at 2pm. TOI hadon April27 reportedhowhe had been sitting till midnight for somedaystoclear backlog.
At6pm on Friday,Kathawalla’scourtroom atoneendon the firstfloor wasteeming withlitigants andlawyers asusual.The scenewasthesame at midnight too. The judge hadn’t taken a dinner break. After the postmidnight record, on Saturday, the judge was back in court at 10am, all set to hear 14 matters listedon board.
Litigants, like film and theatre actor Arif Zakaria who hadcome at3pm on Fridayfor a matter where he and other members of RNA Exotica Flat Purchasers Association are battling a builder against delay in possession of flats in a 32-storeyed tower at Goregaon (W), left after the matter was called out eventually at 1.15am. He went looking for eats at 10pm,but many lawyerstooforsook dinner plans. “At 3pm, serial number 945 was on, at 11.15pm it was around 972. Ours was 1001 on board,” said Zakaria. The board listing starts at 901.“Itwasincredible, a unique dispensation of justice. He is a midnight crusader,” said Zakaria.
Not all lawyers support such late working hours, however. Bombay Bar Association presidentMilind Sathe andseveral other members had earlier met Justice Kathawalla and requested him not to sit beyond 5pm and on holidays, without consent of both parties in advance. The court administration had then issued a notice that matters after 5pm would heardby consentin hiscourt.
Some said that the nearly 25 judges’ vacancies needed to be filled to aid in tackling backlog. Former Maharashtra advocate General S G Aney told TOI, “This incident will go down as part of fascinating HC lore. There is no doubt about his remarkable dedication and ability.Theunderlying tragedy,however, is of the persistent refusal of the legal fraternity to work all year round. We still like to follow dated traditions of shutting courtsfor three vacations.”
Former HC judge Justice V M Kanade said “with rise in pendency, there is a need for more speedy disposal, but the disposal has to be done within court hours. Though admirable,sitting lateis not a sustainablesolution in thelong termfor an institution.”
Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla
Bombay HC judge sits till 3.30am to clear backlog
Hears 122 Cases Before Going On Summer Break
Swati.Deshpande@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: 06.05.2018
After sitting till midnight recently to hear matters, Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla of the Bombay high court topped his own record on the HC’s last working day before summer vacation by rising only at 3.30am. The rush of mattersfor interim relief isusually high before the break, and his board had 134. He capped it at 122for theday anddidn’t risetill hehadheardthem all.
When JusticeKathawalla finally called it a day, it was the wee hours, when the only other place buzzing with similar energy in Mumbai is T2 of the international airport. He sat for
over 10 hours beyond the regular court closing time of 5pm, making it three court days in oneto prevent a backlog pile-up. The judicial hours in HC are from 11am to 5pm, with a onehour lunch break at 2pm. TOI hadon April27 reportedhowhe had been sitting till midnight for somedaystoclear backlog.
At6pm on Friday,Kathawalla’scourtroom atoneendon the firstfloor wasteeming withlitigants andlawyers asusual.The scenewasthesame at midnight too. The judge hadn’t taken a dinner break. After the postmidnight record, on Saturday, the judge was back in court at 10am, all set to hear 14 matters listedon board.
Litigants, like film and theatre actor Arif Zakaria who hadcome at3pm on Fridayfor a matter where he and other members of RNA Exotica Flat Purchasers Association are battling a builder against delay in possession of flats in a 32-storeyed tower at Goregaon (W), left after the matter was called out eventually at 1.15am. He went looking for eats at 10pm,but many lawyerstooforsook dinner plans. “At 3pm, serial number 945 was on, at 11.15pm it was around 972. Ours was 1001 on board,” said Zakaria. The board listing starts at 901.“Itwasincredible, a unique dispensation of justice. He is a midnight crusader,” said Zakaria.
Not all lawyers support such late working hours, however. Bombay Bar Association presidentMilind Sathe andseveral other members had earlier met Justice Kathawalla and requested him not to sit beyond 5pm and on holidays, without consent of both parties in advance. The court administration had then issued a notice that matters after 5pm would heardby consentin hiscourt.
Some said that the nearly 25 judges’ vacancies needed to be filled to aid in tackling backlog. Former Maharashtra advocate General S G Aney told TOI, “This incident will go down as part of fascinating HC lore. There is no doubt about his remarkable dedication and ability.Theunderlying tragedy,however, is of the persistent refusal of the legal fraternity to work all year round. We still like to follow dated traditions of shutting courtsfor three vacations.”
Former HC judge Justice V M Kanade said “with rise in pendency, there is a need for more speedy disposal, but the disposal has to be done within court hours. Though admirable,sitting lateis not a sustainablesolution in thelong termfor an institution.”
Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla
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