| Tuesday , March 31 , 2015 |
Debate over meet of judges on Good Friday- What happened to spirituality then, Chief Justice asks lawyer | |
| R. Balaji | |
New Delhi, March 30: Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu today defended calling a three-day conference of high court chief justices starting on Good Friday, a public holiday, after a senior lawyer requested it be shifted to avoid a clash with a "spiritual day". "In 2007 we had a conference of chief justices (on) a Good Friday; we had a conference of chief justices in 2009 when it was Independence Day," Justice Dattu said at the beginning of the day's proceedings, reeling off precedents. "In 2002, we had a chief justices' conference (on) a public holiday on account of Valmiki Day, again we had a chief justices' conference in 2004 on a Valmiki Day ( a public holiday in Delhi and a restricted holiday for certain castes in some other parts)." His comments come at a time Bengal Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, after failing to dissuade Calcutta High Court lawyers from forcing an extra holiday on Holi, has been trying to get them to compensate by working on April 18, a Saturday.  HL Dattu Advocate Lily Thomas had today told Justice Dattu that India's three crore Christians observed Good Friday, which falls on April 3 this year, as a "spiritual day of redemption", as did their co-religionists worldwide. But Justice Dattu, who was sitting with Justice Arun Misra, told her the weekend scheduling was meant to avoid affecting regular court work countrywide. After the Delhi conference ended on Sunday, the chief justices could leave for their states on Monday, he explained. He wondered why nobody had complained when the conferences were held on public holidays before. "Why is it being raised now? Is it because I am holding the post of the CJI?" he asked Thomas. "In 2007, what happened to spirituality?" As the counsel persisted, Justice Dattu said she should file a formal application and the court would consider it. The debate comes against the backdrop of the Narendra Modi government's controversial decision to celebrate "Good Governance Day" on Christmas Day last year on the ground that the date coincided with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday. Debate has been raging in Calcutta too where lawyers have resolved not to accept Chief Justice Chellur's suggestion to work on April 18 to offset their en masse absence on March 6. After the March 5 Doljatra holiday, the lawyers had skipped work the next day citing the state government's declaration of a holiday on Holi. Justice Dattu, who became the country's top judge on September 29 last year, has been a crusader for work culture. He has promised to ensure before he retires on December 3 this year that the apex court's backlog reduces to 50,000 cases from the 1.30 lakh he inherited. His predecessor, Justice R.M. Lodha, had unsuccessfully tried to persuade fellow judges and lawyers that the courts should function all 365 days a year to reduce litigants' suffering. He had suggested that judges take their winter and summer vacations by rotation. Justice Dattu is also credited with several administrative reforms. Under his watch, the apex court has stopped the decades-old practice of printing over 8,000 cause lists and hundreds of judgments every day as part of a "green drive". Cause lists and judgments are now uploaded every day on the official website. Justice Dattu has sanctioned a crèche at the apex court for the benefit of women employees and advocates, and a dispensary for lawyers and litigants. He has set up a "social justice bench" to deal exclusively with issues of social injustice, sexual harassment and public interest. It sits every Friday from 2pm, the hearings often continuing beyond the 4pm court closure time. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150331/jsp/frontpage/story_11793.jsp#.VRqik_yUeSp |