Chandigarh, May 31
The balance is clearly tilted in favour of reforms in the justice delivery system.

A day before taking over as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul today made it clear that he has done his homework well; and would be looking at various “aspects” of the High Court functioning even during the summer vacations.

Justice Kaul of the Delhi High Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana, an official announcement said today. He will be administered oath as Chief Justice by the Haryana Governor at 10 am on Saturday.

When Justice Kaul came to Chandigarh in December 2009 for attending the oath-taking ceremony of then Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal, little did he realise that in less than four years he would find himself on the same platform swearing to "perform the duties of the office without fear or favour, affection and ill-will".

“At that time, I had no inkling that I would one day be appointed as the Chief Justice in Chandigarh,” says Justice Kaul.

Justice Kaul has, however, wasted little time in going through the reports and other study material pertaining to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with the President clearing his name for elevation.

“I have gone through the booklets”, says Justice Kaul, indicating that he has been laying the groundwork for strategic planning to improve further the justice delivery mechanism in the Hight Court here.

Elaborating on his immediate plans, Justice Kaul makes it obvious that he means business. Summer vacations notwithstanding, Justice Kaul intends to stay in Chandigarh for some time after being administered oath. “I plan to stay for a few days in Chandigarh and look into various aspects,” he says.

Indications are that Justice Kaul will interact with the judges and the Registrar-General of the HC for comprehending better the ground realities; and will come out with a new roster of duty before his departure for Delhi for the rest of the vacations.

He is expected to come back after winding up his work just a few days before the vacations end. Justice Kaul’s indication of studying a range of facets is significant as he comes at a time when the burden of pendency and shortage of judges is staring the HC in its face.

Available information suggests 11.51 lakh cases were pending in the district courts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Till last year, more cases were filed in the High Court than disposed of the previous year, resulting in a pendency of more than 2 lakh civil and criminal cases.