Kochi: For the first time in the country, Kerala High Court has decided to waive the colonial practice of ‘court vacation’ by setting up additional benches during the upcoming summer vacation. Additional division benches and single benches would be constituted to clear the backlog. Civil, criminal and writ petitions pending for a long time, which are ready for hearing, will be listed.
Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan, who passed the decision, asked the court to implement the same during this vacation. Supreme Court Chief Justice T.S. Thakur had recently urged the chief justices of various High Courts to conduct additional hearing during the vacation. In the past, two benches used to function on Tuesdays and Fridays during the summer vacation. “If counsel for both parties are willing, cases will be listed. In cases where the respondent is the state, the request for listing of the cases can be made by counsel for the petitioner after giving copy of the request letter to the government pleader,” Registrar-General Ashok Menon said.
“We should welcome this trend. I am happy that Kerala High Court has decided to make a move to do away the practice of vacation for all the judges,” said former Kerala High Court acting chief justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair.
He added that the system of court vacations should be stopped. “This is for the first time that Kerala High Court is conducting special hearing during the summer vacation. We are awaiting willingness from the judges to constitute benches. At least six benches will function this time,” Mr Ashok Menon said. An advance list of the cases to be taken up for hearing would be published after the receipt of such request filed by the advocate in accordance with the procedure.
