Bench strength: A decisive move by Justice Lalit

His suggestion on Constitution Bench cases is a useful one

Seventy-four days is not a long time to carry through deep-rooted reform but Chief Justice of India U U Lalit has made a decisive move in that direction by announcing that the Supreme Court will hear 25 five-judge Constitution Bench (CB) cases from August 29, his first day in office, and assess whether they are ready to be argued in court. Not only does this mark a big jump from his predecessor’s record, it also reverses a declining trend over the decades. From an average of 134 CB judgments per year in the 1960s, the number dropped to two in