New system for listing urgent matters: CJI UU Lalit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 29

With Justice UU Lalit taking over as the new Chief Justice of India, winds of change are blowing in the Supreme Court.

Over 900 petitions, including 60 PILs, were listed before the SC on Monday

On his first working day as the CJI, Justice Lalit announced that a new procedure for listing of urgent matters would be put in place by September 1.

“We will have a new mechanism by Thursday. Till then, we will look at it in the chamber, and if urgent, we will list it…. For mentioning, we will go back to the original practice of mentioning before the registrar,” CJI Lalit told lawyers, who as usual queued up before his Bench at 10.30 am to seek urgent listing/hearing of cases.

Justice Lalit — who was administered oath as the 49th CJI on Saturday — has already announced that he would strive to have one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year; streamline the system of urgent mentioning and bring transparency to the system. He will have a 74-day tenure before his retirement as the CJI on November 8 at the age of 65. On Monday, he asked lawyers to mention cases for urgent hearings before the registrar instead of requesting the first court to entertain such pleas. “We will go back to the original system... which is that every matter which is registered shall be listed on some day or the other and be part of any advance list. It may be listed within 10 days or at least be in the advance list so that one gets to know what is the date of listing,” Justice Lalit told lawyers.

As the Bench of CJI Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat assembled at 10.30 am, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta welcomed the new CJI and assured him of full support from the government. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave also wished him on behalf of the Bar.

The CJI’s announcement regarding the new system of listing of urgent matters came after Mehta sought to know about the mechanism of “mentioning” of urgent matters.

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