NEW DELHI: The days of going on sudden leave will soon be over for the Delhi lower court judges. Concerned over sudden leave taken by judicial officers, thereby leaving litigants and their lawyers in the lurch, the judges in-charge of respective district courts have issued directions to the judges to apply for leave in advance.
“It is impressed upon all judicial officers that whenever they happen to be on leave, the application must be submitted in advance,” a circular for the Delhi courts reads.
It adds: “If leave is to be taken suddenly, written/telephonic intimation may be sent to the judicial branch by 10 am, with proper instructions to the staff (on how) to deal with cases (and) avoid inconvenience to lawyers and litigants.”
The circular was recently distributed in all six district courts. This step will also ensure that no unnecessary adjournments happen in the case as directed by the Delhi High Court.
The circular also makes it mandatory for the judges to share their leave applications with the Internet division, so that the same can be displayed on court’s website prominently. With the information available in public domain, the litigants will be aware of the judge’s availability.
In the present process, when judges are on leave, litigants get dates in the Sessions Court, while cases are usually taken up by link magistrates in magisterial courts.
“A lawyer prepares his case on a date with specific targets and purposes, but the whole purpose is hampered if a lawyer suddenly finds the judge on leave. If there is proper information either a day before, or by 10 am on the fixed date, litigants and lawyers both can utilise their time in a better manner,” says advocate Mira Kapoor.
The circular further states: “It has been observed that the judicial officers are not submitting the leave applications well in time after resuming duties. Hence, it is further impressed upon all the judicial officers to submit the leave application well in time. Non-adhering to these directions shall be viewed seriously.”
The circular has also taken a note of judges not being punctual. “In some cases, staff members were absent and their leave applications were not received in spite of directions that any kind of leave should be availed with advance intimation.”
Not just the judges, even the staff members have been asked to inform their office in advance about leaves. In case of emergency leaves, they should inform their colleagues.
“Apart from this, attendance should be marked by officials in the attendance sheet and the attendance register simultaneously. Any deviation would entail suitable action against the erring officials,” the circular says. All judicial and administrative officers, along with superintendents and branch heads, have been asked to comply.
Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) had also conducted a study in 2013 on the direction of the Delhi High Court, wherein one of the major reasons behind the delay in trial of rape cases, was due to sudden leaves by the judges.
“Sessions judges going on leave and not available for holding court on the scheduled days are as one of the primary reasons for adjournment of trial proceedings,” the report observed.