Covid pandemic, shortage of staff hamper HC working, cases adjourned for months

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, February 26

The crisis in the Punjab and Haryana High Court has deepened with some cases not coming up for hearing for years or being adjourned for months together. The situation is expected to worsen in the coming months following the retirement of judges even as the High Court is inching towards normal functioning.

16 judges set to retire in 2 years

• HC oscillating between normal and restricted functioning since March 2020
• Problem to aggravate as 16 of its judges are scheduled to retire in a span of two years
• Litigants facing long adjournments; a plea filed in Dec 2019 was last taken up in Feb 2020
• It will now come up for hearing on October 10; such instances are aplenty

The High Court has been oscillating between normal and restricted functioning ever since it shifted to virtual mode of hearing in March 2020, following the outbreak of pandemic. It has been trying hard to cope with the problem of plenty since then.

The problem is likely to be aggravated with 16 of its judges retiring in two years. The High Court collegium last met almost three years back for recommending the names of sessions judges for elevation and nearly one-and-a-half years back for advocates.

Even if the names are finalised now, it will take a long time for the completion of the process. A testimony to this effect is provided by the fact that five advocates recommended for elevation in August 2020 were administered oath as HC judges in October last year. The High Court has 49 judges against the sanctioned strength of 85.

The enormity of the predicament faced by the litigants can be gauged from a petition filed way back in December 2019, in the case of a workman whose services were terminated. The petition “National Institute of Technology versus Suresh Kumar” came up for effective hearing just twice. The matter was initially taken up on December 6, 2019, and again on February 12, 2020. It is fixed for hearing after eight months from now on October 10. The workman has been out of job since 2010.

Seeking an early date, his counsel said the workman had been waiting for the adjudication of his original claim regarding the legality of termination order. The High Court, instead of advancing the date, ordered the main case slated for hearing on October 10 would not be adjourned on administrative grounds. It would be taken up through videoconferencing in case physical hearings did not resume by then.

The instances are aplenty. The High Court on December 10, 2020, put the Haryana Government on notice on a petition alleging the posting of non-State Civil Service Officers on the post meant for HCS (Executive Branch) officers. The petition filed by Haryana Civil Service (Ex. Branch) Officers Association was heard again on January 22, 2021, and has not been heard since then. It is slated to come up for hearing on September 15. Another petition against the Punjab Public Service Commission is slated to be heard on the same date. It was last heard on March 16, 2021.