Bombay HC judges work through marathon hearings late into the night

Sticks and stones are thrown only at trees that bear fruits, remarks Justice Kathawalla

It’s the annual summer vacation for the Bombay High Court but among the other judges hearing important matters, Justice Shahrukh J. Kathawalla and Justice Surendra P. Tavade have been burning the midnight oil.

On May 21, the Bench, along with its court staff, heard matters till midnight, and while granting relief to former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said, “Since we would cease to be vacation judges at the stroke of 12 a.m., we adjourn the hearing to May 24,” and directed the Maharashtra government to not arrest him till then.

Justice Kathawalla has a record of sorts in having heard matters till 3.30 a.m. in May 2018. He always ensures that the Bench he leads finishes each case that has been listed before it, without looking at the clock.

Both judges did not take their customary one hour lunch break and had their snacks and beverages while hearing all the civil and criminal cases assigned to the Bench from May 15 through video conferencing.

The cases before them were a legal pot pourri, with petitioners seeking interim bail plea, child custody, eviction or demolition of structures, tree cutting issues related to coastal road development, cases related to termination of pregnancy, intellectual property, and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and Mr. Singh.

In the one week assigned to them, the Bench took pains to talk to an octogenarian who was in the midst of a dispute between his son and his daughter through video conferencing. The court thoughtfully asked the senior citizen if he wanted to return to his native place, to which he said that he had lived his whole life there and wouldn’t want to go back. Justice Kathawalla talked to the man’s son and said, “Brothers and sisters should not fight. Money will come today and money will go tomorrow.”

The court also intervened in a matrimonial dispute where the judge talked to a 10-year-old girl through video conferencing and asked her name, the school she was going to, and if she would talk to her father. The girl said she did not want to talk to her father after he had sent her mother a divorce notice, and broke down. Justice Kathawalla tried to cajole her and asked her to talk to her father and express what she felt.

In another matrimonial dispute, one of the parties was seeking child visitation rights. Apart from taking the contentions put forth by lawyers, Justice Kathawalla had an in-person chat with the husband and wife regarding the custody of a 7-year-old autistic child.

It was probably a first at the Bombay High Court when Justice Kathawalla insisted that he wanted to talk to Professor Hany Babu, who is admitted in a COVID-19 ward at G.T. Hospital. It was only after seeing and talking to Mr. Babu along with the hospital staff that the Bench directed he be shifted to Breach Candy Hospital.

The court also directed that the 84-year-old Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, lodged at Taloja Central Jail, be produced before him through video conferencing.

After the marathon hearing for the second time in the week on May 21, Justice Kathawalla said, “We are facing criticism for sitting for such long hours. But what to do? Sticks and stones are thrown only at trees that bear fruits.”

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/bombay-high-court-judges-work-through-marathon-hearings-late-into-the-night/article34623812.ece