CJI Surya Kant Sits on Vacation Benches During Winter Break for First Time
CJI Surya Kant Sits on Vacation Benches During Winter Break for First Time
India’s top court breaks tradition as CJI Surya Kant chairs vacation benches to tackle urgent life-and-liberty cases during winter holidays.
New Delhi, Dec 31 — The Supreme Court has held vacation benches for the first time with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant himself sitting twice during the winter break to hear urgent matters involving life and liberty as well as those requiring immediate judicial intervention. He had earlier indicated that the court would come out with some parameters in the new year to rationalise judicial time.
On December 22, the first day of the break, a vacation bench comprising the CJI and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sat to hear 17 urgent matters, including several criminal and civil cases. A statement from the top court said that special sittings had been arranged to ensure timely consideration of pressing cases that required immediate judicial intervention during the vacation period.
Similarly, on December 29, a three-judge vacation bench headed by CJI Kant sat to hear a suo motu case on the new definition of Aravallis amid public outcry and kept in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of these hills and ranges. It said there is a need to resolve 'critical ambiguities' including whether the 100-metre elevation and the 500-metre gap between hills criteria will strip a significant portion of the range of environmental protection.
The vacation bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih stayed pending further orders on the Aravallis matter.
