Don't just blame judges for case pendency: Supreme Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah

Supreme Court judge Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah on Saturday said the mounting pendency of cases in India should not be squarely blamed on judges since delays in the justice delivery system are often driven by how matters are argued and conducted by lawyers.

He observed that judges, as it is, have hundreds of cases listed before them each day. He noted that a trial court level, no judge has a case roster which is less than 400-500 cases each day. At the High Court, it is even higher, he noted.

"A lot of things are said, pendency, judges are under pressure. I'll give you examples on how judges (have) absolutely nothing to do with pendency or the piling up of cases. A judge has to sit for certain hours. Is it a complaint that a judge doesn't sit? Rarely," he said.

He explained that judges are duty-bound to hear all arguments placed before them, even when they may appear repetitive or prolonged.

"As a judge, can I stop a lawyer from arguing? Yes, what I do, I do stop. I tell him, 'you cannot repeat, you are wasting time.' But do I tell that 'you don't have the intellect, you are arguing absurd?' I don't know, he may say something which would be very relevant. I have to give him that space, that in his own way he addresses the court. Is the judge responsible? Probably the answer would be no," he said.

He went on to comment that there is little connection between a judge and the rate of case disposal, emphasising that the length of proceedings is often determined by lawyers.

He stressed the need for introspection within the legal profession, particularly regarding practices that contribute to delays in litigation, such as prolonged arguments and adjournments.

"So in any view of the matter, it's basically how much you expect a human being to deliver in the five hours where the courts are working. There's absolutely no connection (between) a judge and the disposal rate. It depends on the Bar, how long they want to (argue) … You have to do some hard soul searching. Don't just blame the judges," he said.

Justice Amanullah was speaking at the 5th Edition of the ICA International Conference on “Arbitration in the Era of Globalization: Legal Technology, Economic Development and Cross-Border Disputes."

As part of the event, he chaired a session on "ADR Mechanisms: A Catalyst for Global Economic Growth & Investor Confidence."

In his comments, Justice Amanullah also cautioned against expecting judges to be intellectually dominant figures.

“Never, never want or even desire a judge to be brilliant and the master in his field, because then he will not give you a hearing. He should be neutral, he should be open. So, brilliance is not a requirement for a judge. Being fully well-versed, he (would leave) nothing to argument,” he pointed out.

The session was moderated by Senior Advocate Ratan K Singh. The featured speakers included Jimmy Yim SC (Chairman, Drew & Napier, Singapore), James P Duffy IV (Partner, Bracewell LLP, USA), Shweta Bharti (Managing Partner, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners), and Ila Kapoor (Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas).