HC to consider issue of judicial officers taking leave without timely info to advocates

The Delhi High Court has said it will consider the issue of judicial officers taking leave without the advocates and litigants being timely informed about it, causing them inconvenience.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and C Hari Shankar was hearing a PIL seeking directions for prior intimation by judicial officers intending to take leave, as done by the judges of the high court.

The court said necessary directions would be passed on the administrative side.

The plea said one prime hardship is that parties are not given sufficient notice of leave obtained by a judicial officer.

Petitioner and advocate Amish Aggarwala said the judges of the high court inform the registry well in advance if they are on leave and consequently when the final cause list is uploaded for the next day, advocates, litigants and other individuals are well informed about it.

 

"This petition merely seeks that courts of Delhi Judicial Service merely follow the footsteps of this court and timely notice of officers' leave may be intimated to the public," he said.

The plea said though the trial courts' website Delhidistrictcourts.nic.in has a 'Judges on Leave section', the same is redundant.

The petitioner claimed that he routinely checks the 'Judges on Leave section', only to observe that updated list of judicial officers on leave for a particular day is uploaded only after about 11 am on the day itself.

It sought the direction to judicial officers of the Delhi district courts to inform the District and Sessions Judge 24 hours in advance of their intention to take a leave.

It also said direction be given that 'Judges on Leave section' of the district courts' websites be updated at least a day prior.

It said advocates are already receiving automated emails and text messages from the website of the court system informing about next dates of hearings in their matters.

The plea sought for direction that parties, advocates and witnesses be informed via mobile phone call or e-mail or text message a day prior or at the earliest possible, about the concerned judge being on leave.

"A few programming changes can ensure that litigants, advocates and witnesses can also be informed of the presiding officer of a court being on leave by the same system," it said.