IS THIS A JOKE COURT, CJI ASKS LAWYERS DELAYING REPLIES

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice JS Khehar pulled up several lawyers on Monday for seeking adjournments on flimsy ground and turning the court into a “joke”.

“Is it some joke or something else going on here?, If you don’t want to file your replies, tell us we will record it,” Justice Khehar told counsels, representing various States, asked for more time to submit their response in three Public Interest Litigation (PIL) cases pending for over three years.

The first PIL petition was related to pollution in which the top court had last year asked states to file their replies on steps taken to curb the problem. However, most states did not file a response.

The second PIL, filed in 2013, pertained to having a mechanism to ensure mid-day meals in schools across the country. It was filed after several children died in Bihar in 2013. When the case came up for hearing, a junior counsel sought adjournment on the pretext his senior was out of Delhi to attend a family function.

A livid CJI pulled up the counsel and said its client, an NGO, must not mess around with the court.

“Is this a joke court or Supreme Court? What kind of court is this? You start joking with us. You bring the Centre and States here and then say you have to go for a family function?” the CJI remarked while adjourning the matter by four weeks.

In the third case, which raises the issue of installing speed governors on all vehicles in the country to check increasing road accidents, the court issued a final opportunity to state governments for filing a status report.

“We will call all your chief secretaries, only then you will understand,” the CJI warned the counsels, adjourning the matter by four weeks.