Bombay High Court likely to hear cases during summer break to bring down pending cases

After the Supreme Court’s decision to work during the 90-day break, the Bombay High Court is also likely to hear cases during the summer break (from 8 May to 4 June) to bring down the number of pending cases, reported The Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_2902670” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Bombay High Court. CNN-News18[/caption] In a first , at least 15 judges of the Supreme Court comprising three separate Constitution benches will hear petitions on triple talaq, the right to privacy for users of WhatsApp and Facebook and citizenship rights of children born to Bangladeshi migrants. An official told The Indian Express that the proposal is still being considered and an official circular will be released soon confirming details of the benches and the dates. “Important matters will be taken up. The idea is to reduce pendency. The other benches of the High Court such as Aurangabad and Nagpur are also planning to sit during this period once a common consensus is reached,” the official told the daily. Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on 30 March said that the court is ready to sit on weekends too. Usually four Supreme Court judges work during the 90-day break but this time, 19 of the 28 judges will be hearing cases. “These are very, very important matters. If we don’t do it like this (by hearing them in separate Constitution Benches), they will not be decided for years and years together. Then you (lawyers) don’t blame us that it did not happen…or that there are so much arrears,” Justice Khehar said. The apex court also fixed 11 May as the date for the commencement of hearing on pleas challenging the validity of triple talaq, ’nikah halala’ and polygamy practices among Muslims. Bombay High Court advocate Ajay Kumar wrote for Firstpost  regarding the apex court working through summer: “This is also a way of dealing with the backlog of pending cases currently pending in the Supreme Court while the appointment of judges to the high court begins once more thanks to the the finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure after an agreement was reached between the Collegium and the Central government earlier in March. As the vacancies in the high courts get filled, the pendency of cases in high court will begin to drop as their rates of disposal will increase.”