‘Lawyers not serious’,HC scraps system introduced to curb delays

According to the system that has been scrapped,the registrars (judicial) were to complete a judicial file after a bench (single or division) issued notices on a fresh case to respondents. The parties involved in the case were required to submit their responses and counter responses before the registrars who used to return the file to the bench concerned after completing it. The registrars also ensured that serving of notices to respondents in a petition were completed before sending the file to a judge for hearing.

The idea was to curtail the time wasted on completing the file since parties involved used to take months,in some cases more than a year,to file response before a court. To reduce the increasing burden on benches,which normally adjourns a case for two to three months,the High Court had shifted some of its burden on the registrars last year. The registrars used to give only a weeks’ time to the parties involved to complete the proceedings. Despite this,the system failed to achieve the desired results.

“Lawyers never took this system seriously. They would send junior lawyers or munshis (peons) to complete the proceedings of a file. The system could not help check the delays,which is why it was decided to be done away with. Instead of completing the proceedings of a case,the lawyers used to seek adjournment before the registrar and then before the judge,” said a senior High Court official.