Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday said that every bench of the Supreme Court will hear 10 transfer and bail petitions each on all working days to reduce cases in the supplementary list, reported Bar and Bench.
A supplementary list comprises any urgent or left over matter for admission that is required to be listed on the next working day of the court after preparation of final list.
The decision was announced after a meeting headed by Chandrachud. The regular cases on the day’s list of each bench will be taken up after hearing the 20 transfer and bail cases.
“All judges have requested me not to give supplementary boards because judges are reading matters till 12 am and early morning,” Chandrachud said, reported Bar and Bench. “We are being informed that there are 10 more cases. That is why I am trying to reduce the supplementary board.”
This will mean that the 13 benches of the Supreme Court will hear 130 cases per day and 650 cases per week. Over 3,000 transfer cases are currently pending before the Supreme Court.
“We have decided that each bench will take up 10 transfer petitions, which are family matters, followed by 10 bail matters every day to dispose of all such matters before the winter vacation,” he said, reported NDTV. The court will give priority to bail petitions since they pertain to personal liberty.
“In five weeks, all the transfer petitions will be over,” Chandrachud said on Friday.
Transfer petitions mostly comprise matrimonial and family cases, where litigants usually seek inter-state transfer of their petitions, reported The Hindu. Although, transfer petitions are not complicated legal issues, they form the bulk of piled up cases in the Supreme Court, reported the newspaper.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!