Delhi HC slams adjournment culture by advocates

With mounting pendency of cases in courts, the Delhi High Court blamed judges and lawyers for dragging on the cases.

Blaming lawyers for the rising pendency of cases, Justice S N Dhingra lashed out at lawyers for seeking adjournments on frivolous grounds and delaying the legal proceedings.

‘This whole culture of adjournment is one of the big reasons that a case or a petition, which should be decided in two or three hearings, is kept pending for more than 100 hearings,’ Justice Dhingra said.

He said the whole law of adjournment has to be seen again and lawyers as well as judges should introspect and end this culture of adjournment.

There is a ‘separate breed of lawyers’ for practising ‘adjournment culture’ and delaying legal proceedings, he said.

He also blamed the courts, stating that the judges often allow adjournments sought on ‘frivolous grounds’.

‘Adjournments are sought in the name of strike or in the name of elections or in the name of personal difficulty of the senior counsel or in the name of the personal difficulty of the briefing counsel or because two counsels agree for adjournment,’ Justice Dhingra said.

‘This whole culture of adjournment is one of the big reasons that a case or a petition, which should be decided in two or three hearings, keeps pending for more than 100 hearings,’ he said.

The Judge blamed the courts for allowing such petitions. ‘It is seen that this effort of dragging on the case succeeds because of the latitude shown by the Courts in allowing such pleas and acceding to the request of granting one more opportunity,’ the Judge said.