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Synopsis

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Lalit held court from 9:30 AM today. This is a departure from the system, where court proceedings usually start at 10:30 AM. Justice Lalit remarked, “If our children can go to school at 7 AM in the morning, why can’t we hold the court at 9:30 AM?”

While appearing in a case before the bench today, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appreciated the arrangement. Rohatgi told the bench, also consisting of Justices Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, that the arrangement is more convenient.

Justice Lalit remarked, that an early start to the day will ensure that the judges finish hearings earlier and have time to read papers for the hearing the following day. He further opined that the courts can start working at 9 AM in the morning and rise at 11:30 AM for a short break. He said, “The courts can then finish hearings by 2:30 PM so that the judges can prepare for the next day’s hearing.” On being asked, if the arrangement is likely to continue, Justice Lalit said remarked that this was just a capsule.

The senior judge of the Supreme Court is next in line to become the Chief Justice of India. The benches at the Supreme Court usually assemble at 10:30 am and function till 4 PM, with one-hour lunch break from 1 PM to 2 PM.