Attorney General K K Venugopal urges CJI Ranjan Gogoi for more patient hearing

The country's topmost judge had also stated that he would be evolving a plan to tackle pendency of cases.
Attorney General K K Venugopal urges CJI Ranjan Gogoi for more patient hearing

NEW DELHI: Expressing distress over the way Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi was hearing cases, Attorney General K K Venugopal on Monday urged him to give a more patient hearing to the people.

Venugopal raised a complaint against the CJI winding up the hearing often, thereby leaving lawyers without an opportunity to argue their cases. The country's top law officer was representing Rajasthan in a tax appeal matter in the Supreme Court. 

“No other court dismisses a case at admission stage without allowing a party to argue. People come to this court from very far as their last hope,” the Attorney General urged to the CJI. “Your lordship simply saying  ‘dismissed’ without giving a hearing does not do justice. It is not doing justice at all.”

Justice Gogoi responded stating that the court “will take it in the right spirit”. "But, please don't presume that we don't go through the facts. We have done our readings,” he asserted.

Before Venugopal's matter was called out, the chief justice-led bench had already dismissed three Public Interest Litigations (PILs) one after another. 

One of the petitions was filed by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who sought the imposition of Rs 2,000 as the upper limit on cash donations to political parties. 

“If your client files one more improper PIL, we will ban him,” the top court observed.

The bench also trashed a PIL that sought monthly reports from the Prime Minister, his Council of Ministers and the Chief Ministers. 

“What kinds of a PIL is this? Which registrar of this court permitted you to file such a petition?” the CJI asked.

Known to be a disciplinarian, Justice Gogoi also refuses to entertain delays in court and refuses to adjourn cases. 

Soon after taking over his new responsibility, Justice Gogoi had changed the convention of cases being mentioned before the CJI every morning for early hearing. The country's topmost judge had also stated that he would be evolving a plan to tackle pendency of cases.

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