'Never said judges shouldn't go on holidays,' says Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said he was never of the opinion that judges shouldn't go on holidays. Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2023, the minister said: “Naturally, the cases will come to a halt when judges are on vacation. It’s a fact, not something I stated. But I am of the opinion that judges require holidays because they sit from morning to evening and deal with 50-60 cases a day.

Rijiju recalled a time when someone in the Parliament pointed out why judges should have so many holidays. “I was responding to that question but the next day there were headlines saying that the lay minister had said that judges should not take a holiday…” he clarified. 

“There was a heartburn in the judiciary but I did not say anything,” he stated.  

He also said that the judges are also dealing with administrative roles and are under “huge mental pressure” so they require holidays.  

“They need to release that pressure by going with family… I am absolutely okay with that," he said and also noted that in countries like the United States of America, judges deal with around 4-5 cases a day but in India, the average is 50-60 cases a day. And in some cases, judges even see more than 100 cases. 

He said that there can be some sort of regulation on how the holidays are charted out for the courts.  

Rijiju also said there he has never encroached the territory of the judiciary and denied any events of confrontation between the government and the Supreme Court.
 

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