CJI Chandrachud urges lawyers not to turn Supreme Court into a 'tareekh-pe-tareekh' court

D Y Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, on Friday urged lawyers not to seek adjournments in fresh matters. Giving the rationale behind it, the CJI said he did not want the Supreme Court to become a 'tareekh-pe-tareekh' court.

At the outset of the day's proceedings, the CJI the issue of lawyers frequently seeking adjournments in new cases. In the last two months, adjournment slips were moved in 3,688 matters by advocates, he said.

CJI Chandrachud, who was sharing the bench with justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said, "Unless it is very very necessary, please don't file the adjournment slips...I don't want this court to be a 'tareekh-pe-tareekh' court."


Referring to a famous Bollywood dialogue by Sunny Deol in the film "Damini," where the actor lamented the culture of adjournments in courts, the CJI highlighted the reduction in the time gap between filing and listing of fresh matters due to the assistance of lawyers' bodies. However, he expressed disappointment that, even after listing, lawyers often request adjournments, sending a negative signal to the public.

Acknowledging the support of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on Record Association (SCAORA) in minimizing the time between filing and listing, the CJI noted that, despite these efforts, there were still a significant number of adjournment slips submitted. For instance, on November 3 alone, 178 adjournment slips were filed. The Chief Justice emphasized that this practice contradicts the purpose of expediting cases and defeats the progress made in reducing the time taken from filing to listing.