Bombay High Court Judge Sets Record, Sits Till 3:30 in Morning to Dispose of Matters
Mumbai: In possibly a first, a judge of the Bombay High Court sat till the early hours of Friday to finish pending matters.
Justice S J Kathawalla has been burning the midnight oil since the last one week to reduce pendency and finish hearing matters before the month-long summer break kicks in from May 5.
While his court room number 20 has been functioning till midnight over the last one week, on Friday, breaking all the records, the room was packed till 3:30am with litigants and advocates. He heard more than 135 matters since morning, 70 of which were urgent matters.
Hiren Kamod, an advocate who was in the court till the early hours said: "His dedication and commitment to work is unmatched. I was among the last three to leave the court room at 3:30am. It was packed with lawyers, litigants and court staff and nobody complained because most matters were moved for urgent hearings."
He added that most lawyers and litigants had appeared for matters relating to arbitrations, Intellectual property rights and commercial matters, which is part of his current assignment.
"He finished his entire board. He sat from 10am to 3:30am in the court room and took just a 20-minute break. He was tirelessly sitting in one place, sharp and attentive till the end. It's commendable. I was appearing in an Infringement of trademark matter in which got an injunction order against the defendant in the wee hours," added Kamod.
Justice Kathawalla, 59, was sworn in as an additional judge at the HC in 2009 and became permanent judge in July 2011. His commitment for work has been lauded by many and disapproved by some.
A retired HC judge on condition of anonymity said, "There are judges who have disposed of a large number of matters before 5pm itself. If the judge decides to sit so late, it puts a lot of pressure on the court staff working with him."