BHUVANA IYER – Mumbai Uncensored, 15 January 2022
A Division Bench of Bombay High Court has issued a notice on the administrative side warning advocates against circulating matters which do not require urgent hearing.
A bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar noted that advocates are taking undue advantage of an earlier notice which permitted advocates to merely indicate the date of listing without mentioning for circulation.
Lawyers are circulating non-urgent matters due to which a large number of cases in which there is no urgency, are being listed, the notice said.
Recently, considering the rapid surge of COVID19 cases in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, the Principal Bench at Bombay and Bench at Nagpur to limit the functioning of courts for 3 hours a day only. The Court resolved to take up only urgent matters that too through virtual hearing only.
The Bombay High Court had also granted liberty to advocates and parties to give application for urgent listing of cases, in which there is extreme urgency, however, it came to the knowledge of the Court that a large number of matters were listed, in which there was no urgency.
The notice issued by the High Court stated that “It is found that taking undue advantage of the previous notice, by which parties’ advocates were permitted to indicate the date of listing without mentioning for circulation, a large number of matters in which there is no urgency, are being listed.”
The High Court administration has stated that by listing non-urgent matters endlessly by lawyers and parties, there was an “increase in the pressure on the court staffers and court departments” in Covid times when the number of staff was reduced. It is because of this that advocates and parties have been put to notice by the high court administration. The notice clearly states that “if any such matters that are not immediately urgent are circulated, either heavy costs will be imposed or matters may be adjourned to a long date.”
