Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit’s days as top judge supports the argument in favour of short, meaningful tenures for Chief Justices of India. His 74-day tenure, which would end on November 8, has so far shown that it is the quality of time that matters.
Within a month of Justice Lalit taking office as CJI on August 27, five Constitution Benches were formed. The CJI has propelled sweeping administrative changes, especially transparent and prompt listing of cases. September saw the court divide its judicial time between long-pending regular cases and public interest petitions. The month-end has seen a drop in backlog.
But the frenetic pace of daily work — almost 60 to 70 cases listed before every Bench — has raised questions whether judges are able to cope with the work pressure. A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud sat till 9.15 p.m. recently to finish its board of cases for the day. Lawyers have been seen seeking more time to prepare their briefs as their cases were listed suddenly. Recent days have also seen a difference of opinion within the Collegium.
