Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 9
The time has come for trial courts to be strict in their handling of parties, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has said. Tactics aimed at delaying proceedings have the tendency of adding to the burden of already clogged courts, it added.
The assertion by Justice Sudhir Mittal comes at a time when 11,50,672 cases are pending in Haryana and another 8,44,434 are awaiting adjudication in Punjab. The problem of plenty is expected to worsen, with courts witnessing an unmanageable flood of litigation once these reopen for normal operations.
Functioning in restricted mode for almost a year following Covid, courts were initially hearing a limited number of cases through video-conferencing. Although physical functioning had resumed to some extent in the subordinate judiciary, the process of hearing matters was yet to gain momentum.
As a result of the inordinate pendency of cases, it was suspected that many petitioners were no more there to pursue their grievances. When some of these cases were suddenly listed, the counsel were often at a loss in the absence of complete records or instructions.
Justice Mittal also asked trial courts to keep in mind the requirement of law that no party should be overtly prejudice by its act. The Bench was hearing a case in which it was evident that the defendants did not lead their evidence despite numerous opportunities.
"No argument has been raised by the counsel for the petitioner to point out any error in the findings of the trial court. The grant of one opportunity on account of sympathy is not justified," Justice Mittal asserted.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2OECStO
No comments:
Post a Comment