R S. Dhavan, J. - (1.) DR. Ram Saran Deshpandey has been mentioning this matter in person before the Court since 1-11-1991 every day. It is difficult for the court not to take notice of his mention made every day. The records has been in Court since he made the first mention on 1-11-1991, but on that day the case was passed over at the request of counsel for the petitioner. Earlier the case had been ordered to be listed on an application filed on 28-10-1991. The case was last on the list, the record shows, on 16-3-1989 and then went off the list
(2.) THE complaint of Dr. Deshpandey is that this matter was listed for consideration before the Court on 1-11-1991. On that day he was present in Court, when learned counsel for the petitioner Mr. Pramod Jain made a request to the Court, that he is in some difficulty and the matter be passed over. He did not object to the adjournment sought by learned counsel opposing him on behalf of his client THE case was passed over He did not object, he submits only for the reason that counsel submitted that he is in some personal difficulty. But, he submits that the fact that he did not object to counsel receiving an indulgence of a pass over, did not imply that the case itself would disappear from the list. Dr. Deshpandey points out that as of date the case has not been listed and the court did not order that it should be taken out from the Board of the Court. He submits that he is awaiting consideration of the writ petition once it had been listed, to be taken up in its turn. But, it cannot be taken up in turn as the case has been taken off the cause list at the registry. His other submission is that, as it is. the proceedings of the courts keeps collapsing as a result of strikes, or otherwise, and these are circumstance beyond the court's control. He further submits that he is 73 years old and will wait in Allahabad to take his chance for the matter to be considered as in any case it did come on the list in the normal course but was taken off abnormally. While he will wait for his case to be taken up in turn on the list, this will never happen if the matter is not on the list. He has further submitted that his experience at Allahabad High Court is that if a case disappears from the list, it becomes very difficult to put it back on the list immediately, and by the time it does reappear it is not the next day but after many days. The case, after much goading at the registry, is being restored on tomorrow's list. The gap between the last listing and should it be listed tomorrow, will be about three weeks. The Court called the officials concerned incharge of the section to which the record of the present writ petition pertains. They have given the court to understand that if the case is passed over it will next be on the cause list on 25-11-1991. Thus, Dr. Pandey is not incorrect in his apprehension that if the case is passed over consecutively once in a week, twice, it will see the list in the third week. All that this means is that if an occassion of a pass over is permitted, whatever be the cause adjournment, strike or proceedings suspended on death references the case listing system in this High Court is not geared to a speedy delivery system. It has gone haywire. It sinks cases to be lost with the record. There is no continuity on the cases remaining before the Court.
(3.) IF the luxury of having a printed cause list causes so much delay, and may be one contributing factor of procedural delays in the listing of cases, the time has come that the court must take stock of the situation and abdicate, this fashionable luxury of a printed cause list which cannot show on its board, the daily listing of cases, in this court of record. The court cannot help noticing the record of the High Court to find that about 20 years ago the cause list of this High Court was printed daily, and on the premises. It is not unknown that the cause list of other High Courts are cyclostyled and not printed. The necessity of the time is that the style of printing the list at a press outside the premises and seeking a return of the printed cause list into High Court has either outlived its utility or needs to be abandoned so that complaints of disappearing cases from the Board of the Court is within control of the court which hears cases.;