Courts should not grant adjournments mechanically in a routine manner, the Supreme Court recently said, urging courts not to be cause for delay in justice dispensation, reports Bar and Bench legal portal.
Many a time when trial courts refuse to grant unnecessary adjournments, they are accused of being strict and they may face displeasure of the Bar, the apex court observed. However, a judicial officer should not worry about that if his conscience is clear; the officer must bear in mind his duties to the litigants who are before the courts for justice, the top court made it clear.
In the case under discussion, the court noted that around ten adjournments were granted by the trial court between 2014 to 2019 to the defendants. The Supreme Court in its order noted that time has come to "change the work culture and get out of the adjournment culture" so that the confidence and trust placed by the litigants in the justice delivery system is not shaken and rule of law is maintained.
Repeated adjournments on one or the other pretext and adopting dilatory tactics is an insult to justice and concept of speedy disposal of cases, the court noted.
