The Delhi High Court Bar Association’s (DHCBA) decision to boycott working Saturdays at the High Court impacted court hearings today as most cases were adjourned due to non-appearance of lawyers. .The High Court had uploaded a 141-page main cause list and a supplementary list of cases, notifying sitting of at least two dozen benches. But as the day began, many benches, including the one led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhayaya, did not assemble. The judges who chose to hold court granted adjournment in most matters as proxy counsel appeared and sought deferment of cases..In a matter listed before Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, DHCBA President and Senior Advocate N Hariharan was to appear. When Justice Bhambhani was informed of this, he said in a lighter vein that he hoped Hariharan would appear. In another case, a lawyer requested Justice Bhambhani for a short date. The judge joked that he would list it on the next working Saturday. .Speaking to Bar & Bench, Hariharan said that the Bar will continue to abstain from participating in court hearings on Saturdays. “I am sure that the judiciary will respond ultimately. It is not that all High Courts work on Saturdays; most do not. Also, it is not as if lawyers and judges don’t work on Saturday. Administrative work is done by judges on Saturday. Lawyers also do arbitration or trial court work. Also, it is a day when lawyers organise for the next week and deal with their clients,” he added. .The issue of Saturday sittings has been a point of friction between the Bar and the Bench for several months. In October 2025, the High Court had introduced an arrangement requiring each Bench to sit on one Saturday every month to expedite case disposal. As soon as the decision was announced, the DHCBA had objected to the move, saying that the Bar was not consulted before the decision was taken and warning that it would create logistical difficulties for lawyers.A Bar & Bench survey conducted in February 2026 also reflected significant opposition within the legal community to the idea of working Saturdays in High Courts. The survey, which saw 853 respondents, found that 70.8% opposed introduction of two working Saturdays a month, while only 29.2% supported the proposal. A majority of respondents (69.5%) also said that increasing the number of court working days would not meaningfully reduce case pendency. 84.6% felt that the move would negatively affect the work–life balance of advocates, court staff and judges..On April 2, the DHCBA passed a resolution to abstain from work on the first and third Saturdays of every month, protesting against the Delhi High Court’s decision to designate those days as regular court sitting days.The move came after many representations seeking reconsideration of the decision mandating Saturday sittings did not receive a response from the Court.
