NEW DELHI: Bogged down with the increasing pendency of cases at the Delhi High Court, the acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal has come out with an innovative way of listing the cases before the judges as per their area of interest.
Almost over a month after taking over the post after the retirement of former Chief Justice G Rohini, Justice Gita Mittal had sent a letter to all her fellow judges indicating the pendency of different categories of cases.
Justice Mittal sent the letter just before fixing the roaster for the coming months for sittings. She asked them to come up with their area of interest and expertise in hearing particular type of cases.
Though judges are trained in all aspects of law, over a period of time, they develop interest in certain areas like criminal, civil, copyrights, tax matters, to name a few. Justice Mittal, who is known for her expertise in criminal matters, has asked all fellow judges to share their feedback on how best to cut down the pendency and has invited suggestions to bring it down.
Besides, she is also going strict and is imposing cost on litigants who seek adjournments unnecessarily. She is also putting in extra hours at work to disposing of cases. Justice Mittal, who hails from the Delhi bar and understands the pulse of Delhi, is also getting support from bar members. She also understands the court functioning.
A senior lawyer on condition anonymity says, “Chief Justices from other states are always at a losing end as they do not have the advantage of knowing the court properly. The issues important for the capital hit a roadblock till the time he/she understands the workings.”
Just before former retired Chief Justice G Rohini took over, acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed, also hailing from the Delhi bar, enjoyed great support from the lawyers and this led to certain positive changes.