The Bombay High Court recently expressed its dissatisfaction with the repeated requests for adjournments made by the Central government in a case that has been pending before it since 2016 [Ramkali Dayakisan Gupta & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.].
A division bench consisting of Justices GS Patel and Kamal Khata disapproved of the Central government's argument that pending cases hinder the "ease of doing business".
The Court pointed out that this assertion conveniently ignores the fact that the government is not only the largest litigant but also frequently seeks unnecessary adjournments.
"We are well aware, and we feel compelled to state this, that we have often heard the Union Government itself make repeated claims about the backlog of cases, mounting arrears, frequent adjournments, and the alleged obstacles caused by our Courts to what the Government refers to as 'the ease of doing business'. In all these claims, it is conveniently overlooked that the Government is the largest litigant by far and is the one that most frequently seeks adjournments, often unnecessarily. This case is a prime example," the Court observed in its order issued on October 5.
The Court also noted that the pleadings in the current case were completed in 2017, and the matter was ready to be disposed of at the admission stage.
"This further strengthens the reason for not accepting any applications for lengthy adjournments. Given this, we completely fail to understand, and indeed we express our strongest disapproval of these applications for repeated adjournments," the Court stated in its 4-page order.
The Court was hearing a writ petition filed by Ramkali Gupta, who challenged the decision of the Air Force Station in Pune to refuse a No Objection Certificate for the construction of a building due to its proximity to the Air Force boundary wall.
The Court acknowledged that the petition had been pending since 2016 and was ready for final disposal.
On October 5th, the Central government requested an adjournment on the basis that the Additional Solicitor General was engaged in another court proceeding.
The Court expressed its dissatisfaction with this request, as there were other lawyers available from the panel of lawyers representing the Central government, apart from the ASG, who could have attended to the matter.
"We do not anticipate that the esteemed Additional Solicitor General will be present in every single case involving the Union of India. It is only reasonable to expect that there are competent advocates within his office who can assist him in fulfilling his duties. We fail to comprehend why no one else is willing to proceed with this matter," the court commented.
Nonetheless, the Court scheduled the matter for hearing on October 6th.
On October 6th, the ASG appeared and requested additional time to establish the boundaries for the wall.
The next hearing for this matter is scheduled for October 23rd.
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TAGS: Bombay High Court Central government Justice GS Patel Justice Kamal Khata
