MP High Court bar council protests memo to judges, to abstain from CJ's court

The MP High Court Bar Council, Jabalpur resolved to abstain indefinitely from courtroom proceedings of the chief justice's court to protest a memorandum issued to the district and sessions judges across the state.

The MP High Court Bar Council, Jabalpur, on Monday resolved to abstain indefinitely from courtroom proceedings of the chief justice's court to protest a memorandum issued to the district and sessions judges across the state.

The high court administration issued the memorandum on November 5, 2014 to the district and sessions judges across the State instructing them to clear backlog of cases pending for five or more years in a time-bound manner.

"The lawyers body is opposed to the word 'deadline' used in the memorandum for disposal of such cases that is fixed to March 31, 2015," said AM Trivedi, president, MP High Court Bar Council, Jabalpur.

There is specific instruction to the district and sessions judge in the memorandum that "The concerned judicial officer be directed to dispose of the case within the time frame and on priority bases by curtailing unnecessary adjournment".

"If they fail to do so they must assign good reasons for it, otherwise adverse entry be entered in their confidential report by the district and sessions judge," the memorandum said.

The memorandum issued by the high court administration was contrary to certain directives of the Supreme Court issued in P Ramachandra Rao vs State of Karnataka case of 2002, Trivedi said. He said, "There is possibility of the courts scuttling a trial without adjudication to comply the instructions."

Trivedi said, "Enacting bars of limitation entailing termination of trial or proceedings by judicial verdict is uncalled for and is impermissible judicial legislation is there in the guidelines issued in the AR Antulay's case of 1992 by the Apex Court." The bar association distributed a copy of the memorandum in a press conference.