Courts are blamed for not hearing matters: Delhi High Court after lawyers seek spate of adjournments

Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya on Tuesday frowned upon the large number of adjournments sought on behalf of counsel appearing in matters before him.

“We invite you all for tea as nobody appeared in court,” he said, before rising for the lunch break today. 

Even before the lunch break, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela had finished a large portion of the causelist due to the adjournments sought. The Chief Justice stated,

“Okay we will rise then. Look at the number of adjournments we have given. The courts are blamed for not hearing the matters, but when the matters are taken up, adjournment is sought.”

Today, junior lawyers appearing before the Bench sought adjournments for various reasons such as personal difficulty, family bereavement and the main counsel being “on legs in another court”.

The Court was particularly incensed at the proxy counsel seeking adjournment on behalf of the main counsel without having any knowledge of the matter. 

“Proxy counsels are only for taking adjournments,” the judges lamented.