TMI Blog2013 (2) TMI 27X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Fragmentation of faith has the effect-potentiality to bring in a state of cataclysm where justice may become a casuality. A litigant expects a reasoned verdict from a temperate Judge but does not intend to and, rightly so, to guillotine much of time at the altar of reasons. Timely delivery of justice keeps the faith ingrained and establishes the sustained stability. Access to speedy justice is regarded as a human right which is deeply rooted in the foundational concept of democracy and such a right is not only the creation of law but also a natural right. This right can be fully ripened by the requisite commitment of all concerned with the system. It cannot be regarded as a facet of Utopianism because such a thought is likely to make the right a mirage losing the centrality of purpose. Therefore, whoever has a role to play in the justice dispensation system cannot be allowed to remotely conceive of a casual approach. It is the duty of the counsel as the officer of the court to assist the court in a properly prepared manner and not to seek unnecessary adjournments. Getting an adjournment is neither an art nor science. It has never been appreciated by the courts. All wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ruler and a subject but, in quintessentiality, encapsules and sings in glory of the values of liberty, equality and justice In accordance with law requiring the present generation to have the responsibility to sustain them with all fairness for the posterity ostracising all affectations. To maintain the sacredness of democracy, sacrifice in continuum by every member of the collective is a categorical imperative. The fundamental conception of democracy can only be preserved as a colossal and priceless treasure where virtue and values of justice rule supreme and intellectual anaemia is kept at bay by constant patience, consistent perseverance, and argus-eyed vigilance. The foundation of justice, apart from other things, rests on the speedy delineation of the lis pending in courts. It would not be an exaggeration to state that it is the primary morality of justice and ethical fulcrum of the judiciary. Its profundity lies in not allowing anything to cripple the same or to do any act which would freeze it or make it suffer from impotency. Delayed delineation of a controversy in a court of law creates a dent in the normative dispensation of justice and in the ultimate eventuate, the Benc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ourt adjourned the appeal. Similarly, adjournments were granted in the absence of counsel on 20.01.2003 and 4.2.2003. It is interesting to note that when the appeal was listed on 4.2.2003, the court directed issuance of notice to the appellant for making appropriate arrangements for his representation. It is apposite to note that the counsel for the respondent therein was present on that day. Thereafter, the matter was adjourned on many an occasion awaiting for service of notice on the appellant. After completion of service of notice, the matter was listed on 23.9.2003 and, as usual, none was present for the appellant. Similar was the situation on 7.10.2003. On 10.11.2003, when none was present for the appellant, the appeal was dismissed for non-prosecution in the presence of the counsel for the respondent. 5. After the appeal was dismissed for want of non-prosecution, the appellant before the High Court woke up from slumber and filed an application for restoration in 2004 which was eventually allowed vide order dated 9.1.2006. As the order sheet would reflect, time got comatosed for more than six years and eventually, ministerial order of restoration was recorded on 11.5.201 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... give right of audience, I am constrained to adjourn the case to accommodate the counsel (though I am not supposed to) and list the appeal for admission in the next week. 7. At last, on 9.5.2011, the learned counsel for both the sides appeared and the matter was admitted on two substantial questions of law and there was direction for stay of operation of the impugned judgment and decree passed by the courts below. 8. Mr. H.D. Thanvi, learned counsel for the petitioner, has contended that there was no substantial question of law involved and the High Court had no reason to entertain the second appeal only on the factual score. 9. When the matter was listed on 21.9.2012 before us, the following order was passed: - Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that Second Appeal preferred by Respondent No. 1 in 2001 was dismissed for non-prosecution on 10.11.2003, but later restored to file in January, 2006 and after almost 10 years of filing of the second appeal, the judgment and decree of both the courts below have been stayed by the High Court by its impugned order dated 9.5.2011. Registrar General of the Rajasthan High Court is directed to file the details of the progress ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cases injects an artificial virus and becomes a vitiating element. The unfortunate characteristics of endemic delays have to be avoided at any cost. One has to bear in mind that this is the day, this is the hour and this is the moment, when all soldiers of law fight from the path. One has to remind oneself of the great saying, Awake, Arise, O Partha . 13. As advised, at present, we are disposed to refer to certain pronouncements of this Court. A three-Judge Bench in Kailash v. Nanhku and others (2005) 4 SCC 480, while dealing with the issue whether Order 8 Rule 1 of Code of Civil Procedure is mandatory or directory, referred to the observations in Sushil Kumar Sen v. State of Bihar (1975) 1 SCC 774 which we may profitably reproduce: - The mortality of justice at the hands of law troubles a judge's conscience and points an angry interrogation at the law reformer. The processual law so dominates in certain systems as to overpower substantive rights and substantial justice. The humanist rule that procedure should be the handmaid, not the mistress, of legal justice compels consideration of vesting a residuary power in judges to act ex debito justitiae where the tragic seque ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... courts grant - adjournments at the drop of the hat. In the cases where the Judges are little proactive and refuse to accede to the requests of unnecessary adjournments, the litigants deploy all sorts of methods in protracting the litigation. It is not surprising that civil disputes drag on and on. The misplaced sympathy and indulgence by the appellate and revisional courts compound the malady further. The case in hand is a case of such misplaced sympathy. It is high time that courts become sensitive to delays in justice delivery system and realise that adjournments do dent the efficacy of the judicial process and if this menace is not controlled adequately, the litigant public may lose faith in the system sooner than later. The courts, particularly trial courts, must ensure that on every date of hearing, effective progress takes place in the suit. 16. No litigant has a right to abuse the procedure provided in CPC. Adjournments have grown like cancer corroding the entire body of justice delivery system. After so stating, the Bench observed as follows: - A party to the suit is not at liberty to proceed with the trial at its leisure and pleasure and has no right to determ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed that his Advocate is finding it difficult to attend the court from day-today. It is the duty of every Advocate, who accepts the brief in a criminal case to attend the trial from day-to-day. We cannot over-stress the duty of the Advocate to attend to the trial from day-today. Having accepted the brief, he will be committing a breach of his professional duty, if he so fails to attend. 20. In Mahabir Prasad Singh (supra), the Bench, laying emphasis on the obligation of a lawyer in his duty towards the Court and the duty of the Court to the Bar, has ruled as under: - A lawyer is under obligation to do nothing that shall detract from the dignity of the Court of which he is himself a sworn officer and assistant. He should at all times pay deferential respect to the judge, and scrupulously observe the decorum of the Court room. (Warevelle s Legal Ethics at p.182) Of course, it is not a unilateral affair. There is a reciprocal duty for the Court also to be courteous to the members of the Bar and to make every endeavour for maintaining and protecting the respect which members of the Bar are entitled to have from their clients as well as from the litigant public. Both the Be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ivery system, although in respect of criminal trial, Krishna Iyer, J. had stated thus: - Our justice system, even in grave cases, suffers from slow motion syndrome which is lethal to fair trial , whatever the ultimate decision. Speedy justice is a component of social justice since the community, as a whole, is concerned in the criminal being condignly and finally punished within a reasonable time and the innocent being absolved from the inordinate ordeal of criminal proceedings. 24. In criminal jurisprudence, speedy trial has become an indivisible component of Article 21 of the Constitution and it has been held by this Court that it is the constitutional obligation on the part of the State to provide the infrastructure for speedy trial (see Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar AIR 1979 SC 1360, Hussainara Khatoon (IV) and others v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, Patna (1980) 1 SCC 98). 25. In Diwan Naubat Rai and others v. State through Delhi Administration AIR 1989 SC 542, it has been opined that right to speedy trial encompasses all stages of trial, namely, investigation, enquiry, trial, appeal and revision. 26. In Surinder Singh v. State of Punjab (2 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts a reasoned verdict from a temperate Judge but does not intend to and, rightly so, to guillotine much of time at the altar of reasons. Timely delivery of justice keeps the faith ingrained and establishes the sustained stability. Access to speedy justice is regarded as a human right which is deeply rooted in the foundational concept of democracy and such a right is not only the creation of law but also a natural right. This right can be fully ripened by the requisite commitment of all concerned with the system. It cannot be regarded as a facet of Utopianism because such a thought is likely to make the right a mirage losing the centrality of purpose. Therefore, whoever has a role to play in the justice dispensation system cannot be allowed to remotely conceive of a casual approach. 30. In this context, it is apt to refer to a passage from Ramdeo Chauhan Alias Raj Nath v. State of Assam (2001) 5 SCC 714: - 22. ... The judicial system cannot be allowed to be taken to ransom by having resort to imaginative and concocted grounds by taking advantage of loose sentences appearing in the evidence of some of the witnesses, particularly at the stage of special leave petition. The la ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... apse of time. Adding to the misery, the concerned official took his own time to put the file in order. From the Registrar General s communication it is perceptible that some disciplinary action has been initiated against the erring official. That is another matter and we do not intend to say anything in that regard. But the fact that cannot be brushed aside is that there is enormous delay in dealing with the case. Had timely effort been made and due concern bestowed, it could have been avoided. There may be cases where delay may be unavoidable. We do not intend to give illustrations, for facts in the said cases shall speak for themselves. In the case at hand, as we perceive, the learned counsel sought adjournment after adjournment in a nonchalant manner and the same were granted in a routine fashion. It is the duty of the counsel as the officer of the court to assist the court in a properly prepared manner and not to seek unnecessary adjournments. Getting an adjournment is neither an art nor science. It has never been appreciated by the courts. All who are involved in the justice dispensation system, which includes the Judges, the lawyers, the judicial officers who work in courts ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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