Mukul Rohatgi, who took over as Attorney-General on Thursday, said he was not in favour of courts functioning 365 days a year to reduce the backlog of over two crore cases nationwide.
In an informal interaction with presspersons in the Supreme Court, Mr. Rohatgi, however, said having fewer court holidays — two weeks, from the present nine or 10 — could help clear the backlog to an extent.
Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha recently wrote to the Chief Justices of the High Courts, seeking their response to his proposal for round-the-year functioning of courts. The Bar Council of India and the Bar associations have opposed the idea.
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“Working for 365 days won’t solve the problem of pendency. I feel that there should be a multi-pronged attack to tackle the problem of arrears and the sagging image of the judiciary,” Mr. Rohatgi said.
“Over the decades, bureaucrats did not take a view about larger issues and left it to the courts to decide about them… As a result, the Supreme Court has become a mere court of appeal…” Mr. Rohatgi’s suggestions to reduce pendency included repealing redundant laws and curtailing procedures and oral arguments. Detailed arguments could be given in writing, he suggested.