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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court has recently observed that the Union Government is the largest litigant and it is the government who frequently seeks adjournments needlessly.

“We are equally mindful, and we are constrained to say this, that we are no strangers to repeated assertions from the Union Government itself regarding pendency of cases, mounting arrears, frequent adjournments and impediments allegedly caused by our Courts to what the Government calls “the ease of doing business. Conveniently overlooked in all these assertions is the fact that it is the Government that is by far the largest litigant, and it is the Government that most often seeks adjournments, frequently needlessly. This case is an example,” the court said.

On October 5, 2023, a division bench of the high court, consisting of Justice GS Patel and Justice Kamal Khata, was hearing a petition filed by Ramkali Dayakisan Gupta.

The central issue in the petition revolved around whether the petitioner's plot was situated within a prohibited distance as stipulated under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act 1966.

The petition was filed back in 2016 and was still pending admission as of June 8, 2023. Subsequently,  by consent of the parties, the matter was scheduled for a final hearing on July 14, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.

On August 2023 the bench listed the matter to 5th October 2023 at 2.30 pm granting an extraordinary indulgence from 24th August 2023 for a good six weeks.

When the matter was placed on the supplementary board for the 2:30 p.m. hearing, it was brought to the bench's attention that the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) was engaged in another court.

In response, the division bench said that it does not expect the ASG to appear in every single one of the cases involving the UOI.

“We do not expect the learned Additional Solicitor General to appear in every single one of the matters that involves the Union of India. Obviously, it is not unreasonable to expect that there will be perfectly competent advocates from his office who will be able to lighten his load and assist him in discharging the duties of his office. We see no reason why no one else is prepared to go on with this matter,” the order reads.

The division bench, while expressing strong displeasure at the repeated adjournments sought by these applications, posted the matter high on the board for October 6th as a courtesy to ASG.

On the following day, Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas informed the bench that he would file a short supplementary affidavit detailing the position regarding other plots and structures along the relevant boundary.

The bench directed the copy of the affidavit to be served by October 20th and scheduled the matter for a hearing on October 23rd, 2023.

Case title: Ramkali Dayakisan Gupta & Anr vs UOI & Ors