Punjab and Haryana High Court does away with ‘automatic adjournments’

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, February 28

Just two days after it was reported in these columns that some cases were not coming up for hearing for years or being adjourned for months together without being taken up, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has done away with the system of “automatic adjournments”.

The High Court made it clear that “with effect from March 2, ordinary cases will not be adjourned through National Informatics Centre (NIC) and all cases fixed March 2 onwards will be listed for hearing on the date fixed”.

The decision comes less than a month after the High Court decided on adjournment of cases to September and October. The High Court in its order dated January 30 had, in fact, made it clear that the cases already fixed/listed from February 1 to February 28 would be adjourned by the NIC for future dates. The order further made it clear that the adjourned cases would be fixed between September 15 and October 18. Similar orders on automatic adjournment of cases were issued earlier as well by the High Court following the outbreak of pandemic.

The High Court had initially shifted to virtual mode of hearing in March 2020. Limited physical hearing was ordered to be resumed from February 8, 2021, but it had to be suspended as the second wave took in its grip the High Court Judges, judicial officers in the subordinate judiciary, advocates, and the staff. The High Court was forced to go back to restrictive functioning from April 19 last year.

Following a “massive surge” in cases, the functioning had to be restricted further from April 28, 2021. But all the Benches resumed functioning through the virtual mode from July 28 last year, with reduction in the severity of the second wave.

The High Court decided to partially resume physical hearing of cases from September 6, 2021. The number of Benches hearing cases physically increased gradually till the third wave once again pushed the High Court back to virtual hearing. As of now, all the Benches are taking up matters both offline and online.

The High Court has a total pendency of 4,50,912 cases against 4,47,890 cases in January first week. The cases include 1,65,472 criminal matters involving life and liberty. As many as 61,683 or 13.68 per cent cases remained pending up to one year; 93,625 or 20.76 per cent between one and three years and 1,04,914 or 23.27 per cent between five and 10 years.

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