Written by: Ayushi Singh (Intern)
Edited by: Anubhav Yadav (Content Head & Developer)
In a rare view, the Delhi HC was held simultaneously on the virtual court by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Justice Jasmeet Singh, till 10:10 PM and 9:40, respectively, the third time in the night. This is the third case where, over the summer holidays, the Delhi High Court continued the hearing late at night. As a bench of division, he heard a WhatsApp petition challenge the Indian (CCI) Notice of 4 June, some habeas corpus among others. The bench made several various requests, including bail.
In the High Court of Delhi, at present summer vacation is going on and only the urgent matters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through video conferencing due to the ongoing Covid pandemic. This is not the first time that late hearings are going on as earlier a division bench of Justices Asha Menon and Justice Naveen Chawla had also heard late night hearings in the last fortnight.
Normal working hours start at 10.30 am on ordinary working days and run until 17.00 pm. From 5 June to 2 July, the High Court of Delhi has summer vacations. However, the High Court sits beyond usual Court hours for a hearing to conclude the list of issues. Earlier in the morning, Justice Jasmeet Singh had met with Judge Anup Jairam Bhambhani at a Division Bench at 10:30 am for a hearing, hearing about 19 matters presented in front of the bank. At 3.00 pm, the Court was again convened as a Single-Judge Bench by Judge Jasmeet Singh and the cases before him had begun hearing. As part of the current system of hearing notified especially for the vacations, Division and Single Judge Benches of Justices Rekha Palli, Amit Bansal Navi Chawla, Asha Menon, Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Jasmeet Singh, C Hari Shankar and Subramaniam Prasad have been hearing only urgent matters during the course of vacation.
The Court held many cases as a division bench, including a complaint against a single bench order that rejected to prevent producers from utilizing the film’s name, caricature and/or chance. Holding the single vacation virtual bench, Justice Bhambhani heard more than 40 cases listed before his bench. Justice Jasmeet Singh, on the other hand, heard 45 cases. The circular of the High Court announced by the Registrar General that the court is to sit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during its vacations, and it considers it appropriate for or her days. It further indicated that the practise of prompt mention through an internet system even on vacations would continue, but that there would be no physical mention of urgent problems.