Delhi HC hears more than 500 matters on first working Saturday

The decision was taken following a letter from Surya Kant requesting chief justices of all high courts to dedicate two Saturdays each month to hear old cases.

On its first working Saturday under a new arrangement, the Delhi High Court on Saturday heard more than 500 matters, just two days after notifying that the first and third Saturdays of every month would be treated as working days to reduce pendency.

The move was communicated through a January 15 notification issued by registrar general Arun Bhardwaj.

The decision was taken at a full court meeting on December 22, following a letter from Chief Justice of India Surya Kant requesting chief justices of all high courts to dedicate two Saturdays each month to hear old cases. The move was communicated through a January 15 notification issued by registrar general Arun Bhardwaj.

While most judges attended, the day saw multiple deviations from the notified roster, with altered or additional bench combinations and some benches assembling to hear only one or two matters.The deviations from the notified roster were formally approved and subsequently reflected in the official cause list.

According to data accessed by HT, on the appellate side, the division bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, along with justice Tejas Karia, heard 220 matters, the highest among all division benches. Of nine division benches notified, six eventually assembled.

On the civil side, Justice Sanjeev Narula heard 87 matters, the highest by any single judge.

Justice Jasmeet Singh, besides hearing five matters, also dismissed election petitions challenging the 2020 election of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and the 2025 election of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Satish Upadhyay to the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Additionally, Justice Amit Bansal also heard three final-hearing matters.

On the criminal side, justice Saurabh Banerjee heard 18 matters, while on the original side, justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar heard 21 matters.

Roster deviations included justice Navin Chawla sitting with justice Madhu Jain instead of justice Ravinder Dudeja, benches hearing single matters, and justice Prathiba M. Singh sitting in two different combinations the same day. Judges Amit Mahajan, Tejas Karia and Shail Jain also functioned both in division benches and individually, highlighting operational flexibility on the court’s first working Saturday.

There has been no response from the Bar so far. The Bar is yet to convene a meeting or issue any formal statement on its preparedness for working Saturdays.