'We burn midnight oil even during vacations': SC on Sanjeev Sanyal's courts work 'for a few hours' comment

A Vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma on Wednesday expressed its displeasure at economist Sanjeev Sanyal's remarks that the Supreme Court and High Courts work only for a few hours and take long vacations. "Very unfortunately, despite efforts being put in by judges, it is said that judges work for very few hours," Justice Datta was quoted as saying by legal site Bar and Bench.  

"Those who say all this are part of governance; not one matter filed by Union (government) etc is filed within limitation. Every case has a condonation of delay application. All who castigate judiciary must take note of this. We burn the midnight oil even during the vacations," he said. 

In a podcast aired on May 12, Sanyal called for some reforms in the judiciary. He said the judiciary must be modernised, and if not done, it will probably be the biggest obstacle to the country's economic, social, and national progress.

"We will have to change the justice system. Think about this 'tareekh pe tareekh' system. What is this? We say this is from the colonial time. For seventy-five years we have the same system," the noted economist said in a podcast - Prachayam. 

"The High Courts and the Supreme Court take leave in summer and then take leave again in Dussehra. What is this system? They work for a few hours. All these old systems will have to be changed, and modernise it. The government can contribute to this to some extent. But in the end, the justice system will have to do it on its own," the economist said.

As per the Supreme Court's calendar for 2024, the summer vacation of the court will commence on May 20 and the court will resume its sitting on July 8. Similarly, the apex court will be closed for six days - between October 7 and October 12 - for Dussehra. Besides these holidays, during Christmas and New Year, the SC will remain closed from December 25 to January 1, 2025 (both days inclusive).