Litigants rap advocates for delay

Those who embark on the litigation journey, if it may be called so, end up spending time and money well beyond their imagination and resources. A moot question to ponder is whether litigation results in the punishment of another or to oneself! Who is to blame the advocates who seek adjournments or the judges that grant them?

Litigants rap their advocates for delaying cases for years together and the more vexed litigants may even feel that they should represent themselves.

Advocates tell their clients that it is not their fault—they have to follow their duty to the court and the administration of justice. Adjournments are given by the court either on the request of one of the counsels or by judges not interested in hearing the case at that time. The lawyer will tell his client that he cannot raise objections on a simple adjournment without valid reason and compelling the hearing of the case would have an adverse impact on the case and other cases argued by him.

The fact of course is that skilful and creative counsels can obtain adjournments multiple times, sometimes on the advice of their colleagues and seniors. Government counsels often ask for adjournments for frivolous reasons or because they are ill-prepared or because it is in the interests of the government to delay the case.

The oft-repeated argument in favour of an adjournment is that natural justice has to be done by hearing everyone concerned. But repeatedly asking for adjournments is not really for natural justice but to deliberately delay the case. If the courts are strict, the number of adjournments can be brought down.

The Bombay High Court has, through a recent order, established that an adjournment will not come cheap, and imposed a cost of `25,000 on the Central Government, whose counsel sought an adjournment for filing an affidavit-in-reply to a writ petition filed by a petitioner. As the Central Government had already been granted time and opportunity to file the same, but was not ready on the day of the hearing, the penalty was a just one.