Gujarat HC notice to administrative arm on circular barring parties-in-person from filing leave notes

The petition has been moved by a party-in-person, Vishwas Bhamburkar, seeking that the circular be withdrawn or quashed and set aside and has also sought that the operation of the circular be stayed pending the disposal of the petition. Leave notes and sick notes, circulated or filed by lawyers, allow for adjournment of matters and in case of such notes, matters cannot be disposed of on account of absence of lawyers. The provision is enumerated under the Gujarat High Court Rules 1993.

Terming such a circular as discriminatory, illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, the petitioner has submitted that on January 5, 2022, a judicial order was passed by the high court in a matter where Bhamburkar, an Ahmedabad resident, himself is the petitioner. The order held that a plain reading of the Gujarat HC Rules did not enable or permit a party appearing in person to seek leave by filing a leave note or sick note. The order then rejected the leave note filed by Bhamburkar and instructed the registry to issue a circular in this regard. The registry then issued a circular to this effect on January 11, 2022.

The petitioner has submitted that the Gujarat High Court Rules do not specifically debar parties-in-person from filing leave notes, nor do they exclusively confirm this right only to advocates, and that parties-in-person are to be treated on par with advocates in terms of their arguments, submissions or their general conduct before the court.

It has also been submitted that a party-in-person is not insulated from “the vagaries of nature or circumstances” and can also fall sick like an advocate.