Malady of adjournments continues

Despite Supreme Court guidelines, imposition of costs, and several calls by high ranking constitutional authorities including former Presidents of India and Chief Justices of India to curb the practice of repeated adjournments, the ‘Adjournment Culture’ continues to dog the judicial system, unwanted and unwarranted as it is.

Litigants have to deal with this delaying tactic commonly adopted by lawyers of asking for and getting adjournments that make cases drag on for years together sometimes. Adjournment requests are being liberally allowed by the courts even though the guidelines call for no more than three adjournments.

There are laws and orders in place that provide sufficient safeguards against frequent adjournments, but the implementation and enforcement is lacking. Order XVII of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) provides that only three adjournments will be granted to a

party during the course of the suit. Further, it provides that adjournments will only be granted for a ‘sufficient cause’ and ‘where the circumstances are beyond the control of a party’. In criminal cases and writ cases, guidelines were also issued on adjournments.

However, these are rarely

adhered to. One study revealed that the average number of adjournments granted in the district and subordinate courts range from 12-32 in civil cases and from 8-24 in criminal cases.

Cases remain pending for an average of 15 months to 60 months in subordinate courts for reasons of adjournments,

not filing counters, absence of the advocates, judicial officers on training, no representation from the government (whether it may be assistant public prosecutor or assistant government pleader).

Adjournments asked for and given by courts are just a delaying tactic. Litigants

are anguished and agonise over the adjournments granted, but their dissent never reaches those who sit in the hot seat. In spite of rules against granting many adjournments, and requests to judges of all courts to discourage the practice and so ensure speedy justice, the malady continues.