Sir — It was reported that Justice SJ Kathawalla, one of the Judges of the Bombay High Court, worked till 3:30 am to finish pending matters in view of the month-long summer vacation that kicked in on May 5. It was also stated that Kadhawalla is used to working for long hours. One must bow before the Judge for rising beyond the call of duty to reduce pendency of cases. This also goes on to show the commitment, dedication and diligence of the judge towards his job.
However, the need of the hour is to do away with the colonial practice of the courts to close for summer break. This routine was put into practice so that the Judges get some relief from their routine job. Further, at that point in time, there were fewer cases than now.
Today’s picture is quite different and one cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the same. According to National Judicial Data Grid’s statistics, there are 2,67,73,356 cases pending in various courts of India. One understands that the job of a Judge is tough and he, being a human being, definitely deserves a ‘pause’. But considering the huge backlog, which are mounting every passing day, our learned judges have to work for long hours so that the days’ listed pleas are heard, besides just putting an end to the tradition of closing the courts for summer vacation. Courts are like any other organisation and judges have to make do with the available manpower.