New Delhi, Supreme Court judge Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah has stated that the mounting pendency of cases in India cannot be solely attributed to judges. He observed that delays in the justice delivery system are often influenced by the manner in which lawyers argue and conduct cases.
Speaking at the 5th edition of the ICA International Conference on 'Arbitration in the Era of Globalisation', Justice Amanullah said judges already handle a very large number of cases every day. At the trial court level, no judge has a case roster of less than 400-500 matters daily, while in the high courts, the number is even higher.
The top court judge said that while judges are required to sit in court for fixed hours and hear matters listed before them, they cannot always curtail arguments made by lawyers. He added that the duration of court proceedings often depends on the length of arguments presented by lawyers, which in turn affects the pace of case disposal.
Justice Amanullah also cautioned against expecting judges to be intellectually dominant figures in court. He pointed out that brilliance is not a requirement for a judge, and being fully well-versed is more important.
