In the working legal system, time is extremely constrained. It moves slowly because it is overloaded with cases. It is important to avoid creating any needless systemic barriers during this time. Unfortunately, attorneys fall short of their responsibility to accomplish that as court officers. They accomplish this by strikes and condolences, respectively.
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Urgent Need For Revision?
The efficient operation of the legal system has been further hampered by the increasing abuse of both of these justifications. The system of condolences requires serious reform and significantly impairs the efficiency of the justice system. The Jharkhand High Court has already heard three condolences in the second month of 2024.
The number of lost working days is also unchanged. For instance, the Supreme Court stated that between 2012 and 2016 attorneys were on strike for 455 days (on average 91 days per year) in Dehradun District and for 515 days in Haridwar District, quoting the 266th Law Commission Report (about 103 days per year).
How Important Is Friday?
As the only day designated for hearing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and tied-up matters, Friday is significant in the Court. Cases that are scheduled before the same bench that previously rendered judgment are referred to as tied-up cases.
In 2022, there were 52 Fridays. Eleven of those fell on weekends or holidays, leaving 41 working Fridays. 13 of those Fridays, or over a third of the working Fridays, saw condolence services. On three of the four working Fridays in January, there have been funerals. It has taken a lot of time.
What National Judicial Data Grid Inform:
The Jharkhand High Court is currently hearing a total of 86,806 cases, which were last verified on February 3, 2024. 15,331 of these cases have been pending for 10 to 20 years, 1,497 for 20 to 30 years, and 44 have been pending for more than 30 years. Almost 18% of all matters currently pending before the High Court have been languishing for more than 10 years.
Although there are other factors at play besides condolences, a minor systemic adjustment could ease some of the load. The significance of these little adjustments is demonstrated, for instance, by recent attempts by other High Courts to reduce the backlog of cases. The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Chief Judge stressed that holding court for an additional 30 minutes can result in a corresponding rise in the number of cases resolved. The Patna High Court made a comparable effort to address the issue of delayed bail applications in May 2022.
Need Desperate Need Of Re-evaluation
In light of this information, it is critical to re-evaluate some of the activities that can be avoided and result in the greatest possible reduction of court time. There are methods to expedite things, even if I have the utmost respect for the spirits of the dead and the necessity of doing so. For instance, returning to work after showing respect or convening at 4 p.m. and suspending work for the remainder of the day are both polite approaches to remember our former co-workers.
