The court team, which includes court sheristedars Pranita Ambekar and Nitin Shinde, as well as high court clerk Jyotiram Tawse, will continue to work to ensure that all orders are issued that day are properly uploaded and filed.
Delivering justice out of the ordinary in Bombay High Court
For the second day in a row, a bench led by Justice SS Shinde of the Bombay High Court sat past court hours to hear cases.
On Friday, the bench, which included Justice Milind Jadhav, sat till 8.30 p.m. to hear 215 of the 265 cases posted on the board for a hearing.
The Bench, which had been assigned to criminal cases, had listed 265 cases for hearing, including petitions filed by prisoners, applications for parole, habeas corpus, and quashing of FIRs by consent, specifically in cases of cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, and urgent petitions mentioned by lawyers.
The Bench made a point of completing hearings on all cases in which parties sought to have FIRs quashed after reaching an agreement with the complainant.
This was done to ensure that the complainant, who had been ordered to stay in court, would not have to return.
While the judges retired at 8.30 p.m., the court staff, which includes court sheristedars Pranita Ambekar and Nitin Shinde, as well as court clerk Jyotiram Tawse, will continue to work to ensure that any orders issued during the day are correctly uploaded and filed.
On Thursday, the same panel heard almost 190 cases and sat until 8 p.m.
Rightly applauded by Union Law Minster
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Law Minister, said on Twitter, “I’m delighted to read that the Bombay High Court’s Justice SS Shinde heard over 190 cases yesterday. From 10.30 a.m. to 8 p.m., he sat on the bench!”
Out of the 206 matters on the docket, the bench heard over 190. Judges at the Bombay High Court work from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on a regular basis.
Union law minister Kiren Rijiju praised Justice SS Shinde of the Bombay high court on Friday for sitting from 10.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and hearing over 190 cases, much exceeding the schedule. According to Bar and Bench, the bench had over 200 cases to hear on Thursday.
“I’m delighted to note that the Bombay High Court‘s Justice SS Shinde heard over 190 cases yesterday. From 10.30 a.m. to 8 p.m., he sat on the bench!” Kiren Rijiju posted a snapshot of his chamber on Twitter.
The high court’s regular working hours are 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. It’s not uncommon for courts to stay open late due to emergency hearings, but hearing 190 cases in a single day at a time when judicial work is being criticized sets a new standard.
Justice SJ Kathawalla, who just resigned, reportedly handled 150 cases in one sitting, according to Bar and Bench.
Creating Exceptional Legacy
Justice SS Shinde, the Bombay high court’s third most senior judge, is set to retire in a month. The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended him as the new Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
In the last few years, Justice SS Shinde has handled a number of high-profile cases, including the Elgar Parishad case, the abetment to suicide case against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, and the cases against former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut.
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