Bombay HC Judge Sits Till 3:30 AM To Clear Pending Cases, Hears 122 Cases In Over 16 Hours

Over the years, the general public has become cynical regarding all the legal authorities in India, and for good reason. Justice hasn’t been swift. Corruption has infected almost every police branch. And people have noticed loopholes in the system that nobody has tried to fix. However, there are these rare moments that make us hope again. While last time it was Mumbai Cop Urmila Kirdat, this time it’s Bombay High Court Judge, Shahrukh J. Kathawalla.

According to Times of India, Justice Shahrukh J. Kathawalla’s record-breaking act at the Bombay High Court took place on Friday where he did the work of three court days in one.

Justice Kathawalla has been known to work midnight hours in order to prevent backlogs. However, this time he went over and above to make sure that he has done his best before taking off for his summer vacation. Due to the rush before such a long break, his board had to attend to 134 cases. Kathwalla ended up taking on 122.

This was only possible because Justice Kathwalla sat on his chair for 10 more hours after the mandated court closing time of 5 PM. While he must’ve availed the one-hour lunch break at 2 PM, the judge refused to take a dinner break. And after calling it a day at 3.30 AM, he returned to his duty at 10 AM again.

By 6 PM, the entire courtroom was jam-packed with litigants and lawyers. But that didn’t stop Justice Kathawalla from doing his job. Arif Zakaria, a film and theatre actor, who was there for one of his cases said,

“At 3pm, serial number 945 was on, at 11.15pm it was around 972. Ours was 1001 on board. It was incredible, a unique dispensation of justice. He is a midnight crusader.”

As the rest of the court’s staff wasn’t as diligent as Kathawalla, they were shutting down sections of the building. However, when a lawyer complained that the toilets had been shut down, the judge immediately made arrangements to have it open. Now that’s something!

Justice Kathawalla also opened up other courtrooms so that the litigants and lawyers can beat the Mumbai heat and also have a place to sit. Some of his new fans were heard saying,

“The judge was as fresh as he is in the mornings. Energy levels were high in the court. He inspires confidence in litigants that justice can be delivered swiftly.”

However, everybody wasn’t a fan of Justice Kathawalla’s style. Bombay Bar Association president Milind Sathe complained about the state of affairs and said,

“Sitting beyond court hours and certainly through the night causes a lot of inconvenience to a large number of advocates, paralegals and their staff as well the court staff and administration. The library was kept open till 11 pm on Friday. Therefore, despite the great work he is doing, it raises issues of institutional functioning.”

Justice Kathwalla’s intention to clear the backlogs is simply exemplary and is worth looking up to no matter which work of life you’re from. However, this level of respect for one’s duty should be maintained from now on. As it’ll be impossible for everyone to work late hours, lawyers and every judicial body should work efficiently at a constant pace to make sure that justice prevails as quickly as possible.

Cover Image Source