Supreme Court tells lawyers to work in summer vacations

Source:- newindianexpress.com

NEW DELHI: Come May and the empty Supreme Court corridors will be buzzing with India’s top lawyers arguing their cases as Chief Justice of India J S Khehar had made it clear all cases involving constitutional challenges would be heard on day-to-day basis in holidays.

This year, summer vacations will begin from May 11, and courts will re-open on July 3.

Usually a vacation bench sits during the summer holidays to hear cases, which require urgent hearing. But the CJI took this initiative to cut down pendency of cases, which is above 60,000 in the apex court alone.

This will cut down the dream vacations of many lawyers who plans their vacations months in advance to go abroad.

A senior lawyer said, “We have cancelled all plans and decided to help the judiciary in overcoming the pendency.”

This year, the court will hear the petition challenging the constitutionality of Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaaq and nikah halala. It will also hear a plea related to seeking guidelines to regulate WhatsApp and its 2016 privacy policy. The court said it will hear the case only during the summer vacation and made it clear that the same senior advocates will have to argue the case if the petitioners want the case to be listed at the earliest.

During the WhatsApp privacy policy hearing, Justice Kehar ensured that Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who was appearing for the petitioner, would have to argue during the vacations also.

Thirdly, the court will hear a case pertaining to illegal migration into Assam. It involves many significant issues, including Constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act and whether there is a rational basis for having a separate cut-off date for regularising illegal migrants who enter Assam as opposed to the rest of the country.

In 2015, the court had heard a case challenging the Constitutionality of National Judicial Appointments Commission.