READY FOR TALKS ON LONG VACATIONS: CJI

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Sunday said he is ready to begin a conversation on the controversial issue of higher courts going on long vacations.

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Each year, the Supreme Court goes on over a monthlong vacation during the peak summer season. It also takes Christmas/winter break for around two weeks. Besides, the top court closes for a week each during Dussehra and Diwali.

During the summer vacations, the Supreme Court keeps open one or two benches open for hearing urgent and important matters.

“Let us begin the conversation on long vacations and whether alternatives such as flexitime for lawyers and judges is possible,” said the CJI.

There has been a controversy about the long vacation in higher judiciary and it has triggered criticisms of pendency. In 2022, former Law Minister Kiren Rijiju reportedly criticised the long vacations of the court and the inconvenience it caused to litigants. Last year, a Parliamentary panel called for doing away with long vacations in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

Vacation is a time for judges to write judgments, research, do administrative work, prepare for cases for hearings, and travel.

The remarks of the CJI came at an event as the Supreme Court of India celebrated its diamond jubilee year.

Speaking at an event to mark the 75th Foundation Day of the Supreme Court, the CJI also said that we must emerge out of the adjournment culture to a culture of professionalism.

The legal profession must provide a level playing field for first-generation lawyers - men, women and others from marginalised segments who have the will to work and the potential to succeed, he added.