Letters: A costly and avoidable tool

Apropos M J Antony’s column “When wheels of justice clog” (Out of Court, February 13), the author has pitchforked one of the most costly and preventable causes of delay in the dispensation of court cases — frequent adjournments. According to one study, the average duration of a court case in India is 15 years, and much more in the case of civil suits. It is not that there is a dearth of legal provisions and Supreme Court guidelines to stop this much abused system. The code of civil procedure (after its amendment, with effect from July 1, 2002) permits a maximum of three adjournments to a party during the hearing of the suit. In Sheela Barse vs Union of India, the court reaffirmed speedy trial to be a fundamental right. Quite often, an adjournment serves the interest of lawyers better than the cause of justice. Representing many clients simultaneously, and the system of charging fees per hearing rather than per case, provide the basis for the postponement of the case. Normally, the benefit of an adjournment is sought by well-to-do clients, putting poor clients in a financial crisis. It is because litigants from rural and distant areas have to spend a lot of money, or travel, and at the cost of their work. While it is commendable that the Supreme Court has exhorted the high courts to check this misuse of law, there should be legal provisions to curb the lawyers’ habit of seeking adjournments to suit their convenience.

Y G Chouksey Pune

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