Lawyers not appearing to argue cases and yet courts are blamed for delays: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court lamented that delays in case disposal are often blamed on the courts, even though lawyers and litigants contribute. A vacation Bench of Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Prasanna B Varale made this observation after a lawyer sought adjournment for a 2017 civil appeal due to the arguing counsel's illness.

Justice Kumar questioned why the lawyer couldn’t argue, noting the case’s long pendency. He urged young lawyers to seize opportunities to argue when seniors are unavailable, especially during vacation hearings.

The Court granted the adjournment but insisted the junior lawyer must argue next time, emphasizing that juniors should argue cases in their seniors' absence unless instructed otherwise.