oppn parties Supreme Court 'Embarassed' At Repeated Requests For Adjournment By The Centre

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  • India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship. India defeated Pakistan in a closely contested match, having led 3-0 before conceding two late goals. The victory was reported as a significant result for India's second-string side
  • India beat Japan 4-1 to win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy. India recovered from an early deficit to defeat Japan in the final at Mohali, extending its record as the tournament's most successful men's team
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
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Supreme Court 'Embarassed' At Repeated Requests For Adjournment By The Centre

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-11-10 15:04:35

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Supreme Court rightly said it felt "embarrassed" in dealing with the repeated requests (it was the second request in a month) for adjournment of hearing in the demonetization case made by Attorney General R Venkatramani. The apex court has been getting strict with senior advocates to avoid the unhealthy practice of asking for adjournments to reduce or do away with the tareekh pe tareekh culture. It has even advised senior advocates to allow their juniors to argue cases if they are not able to attend court and not ask for adjournments on that count. In some cases, the court even allowed holidaying senior advocates to argue via video conferencing instead of granting an adjournment. Hence, it must have been genuinely embarrassing for the judges to decide on such request from the chief legal advisor to the government of India. How does the court make an exception in case of the central government? Will it not be discriminatory?

The Centre wanted deferment of hearing as it was not ready with the affidavit that needed to be filed in the demonetization case. The hearing was adjourned at the last date too. This time the judges have allowed time till November 24. The Central and state governments, being the biggest litigants in the country and having a battery of lawyers and legal staff at their disposal, must recognize the fact that repeated adjournments in any case lead to unnecessary delays and further clog the judicial system which is already groaning under the weight of huge backlog of cases. Hence, the government must instruct its lawyers to be present in court with all necessary documents and argue cases on the date of hearing instead of asking for adjournments. The Centre needs to set an example in this regard and save judges from the embarrassment.