Letters: Adjourning adjournments

Your editorial "Justice still denied" (April 30) is timely, particularly when none other than the new Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha, had said the adjournment culture must stop in the interests of the litigant public. It has become regular practice among a section of lawyers to seek an adjournment at the drop of a hat, with no regard to the inconveniences caused to litigants. Lodha has rightly recommended that: "Requests for adjournments have to be made much in advance and would be decided by a registrar of the Supreme Court. The judicial time of the Court cannot be spent on it".

Considering the growing number of pending cases, this is the only alternative. To speed up trials, the entire system needs to be overhauled. Lodha's tenure may be short, but not much time will be required to implement a system. A time limit should be fixed for the disposal of a case from the date of its institution, which would go a long way in providing relief to hapless citizens who are clamouring for justice.

Arun Gupta Kolkata

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