Next hearing, please

K K Venugopal said that the US Supreme Court gave each side only 30 minutes

Chief Justice of India J S Khehar wowed everyone in court on Tuesday when, presiding over a five-judge Constitution bench, he said that a nine-judge bench would be set up overnight and hearing on the question of privacy in the Aadhaar scheme would be concluded on Wednesday. In the past, the Supreme Court heard the Kesavananda Bharati case for six months, the Mandal case for over three months and the judges’ appointments case for another three months. Breaking the norm, the Aadhaar petitioners are allowed only 200 minutes and the government 30 minutes less. Attorney General K K Venugopal appreciated the lightning speed, remarking that the US Supreme Court gave each side only 30 minutes. That court takes up only 100 cases a year while its Indian counterpart hears 74,000 in the same period. Khehar added that Indian judges could not write judgments during office hours and weekends were spent writing them.