On Monday, Chief Justice of India U U Lalit recalled his promises when he assumed office in August and said he had fulfilled them “to a certain extent.”
As I stand before you, I recall some promises I made when I assumed the position of Chief Justice of India. And I said that I would streamline the listing patterns, I will make sure at least one constitution bench is functioning all through, I will make sure that routine matters are listed at an expedited date and simplify the mentioning process”. While speaking at a farewell event organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association, CJI Lalit, who is set to retire Tuesday, stated: “To a certain extent, I have been able to keep those promises,” he said, adding, “from the first day I took over until today, we have been able to dispose of more than 10,000 matters.”. Additionally, we have disposed of 13,000 defective matters that were simply being maintained on the file for several years.”
Thus, the disposal figure was 1,300 higher than the filing, adding “which means we have been able to reduce some of the mounting arrears to some extent.”.
CJI recalled that soon after taking over, a full court meeting had decided all judges would serve on one or more constitution benches. According to him, there were days on which as many as three constitution benches were operating simultaneously.
He explained that many death reference matters were also handled by three-judge combinations, pointing out that all this was possible due to the tremendous support provided by other judges and the bar.
The CJI said he had come first to the SC to mention a matter before the then CJI Y V Chandrachud, “That was my first day. Now I am passing on the baton to the son of that illustrious Chief Justice, Justice D Y Chandrachud,” he added.
Speaking on occasion, CJI-designate Justice Chandrachud lauded CJI Lalit for “showing remarkable leadership” and said, “during my tenure, I hope to provide continuity to all the good work that Chief Justice Lalit has begun”.
The CJI-designate termed CJI Lalit a “compassionate” judge whose “work uplifted our institution.”
