CJI asks if courts can be kept open all year

Chief Justice of India RM Lodha has sought suggestions from all high courts on the issue of keeping courts open for litigants on all the 365 days.

Chief Justice of India RM Lodha has sought suggestions from all high courts on the issue of keeping courts open for litigants on all the 365 days. In a letter to all the chief justices, Chief Justice Lodha has asked them to reply at the earliest.

Chairman of Bar Council of India was also requested to discuss the proposal with state bar councils and other bar associations. The CJI clarified working on 365 days did not mean that vacations available to judges would be curtailed.

“They should be permitted as many days of holidays and vacations as they are presently entitled to, but it should be whenever they choose rather than on fixed days and at fixed periods in the year,” the CJI stated in his letter.

Continuing with the colonial legacy, Supreme Court has a month-and-a-half-long summer break. High courts too have summer, autumn and winter breaks.

The CJI has suggested that by the end of September, each judge should indicate holidays and vacations he or she wants to avail of in the succeeding year. This would help the court registry finalise the sittings having regard to the options given by the respective judges.