The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has urged Bar bodies across India to oppose the proposal to make High Courts work on two Saturdays every month. It warned that longer court sittings will increase stress on lawyers and judges and may harm the quality of justice instead of reducing pendency.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has written to several Bar Associations across the country, asking them to come together and strongly oppose the proposal to make High Courts work on two Saturdays every month.
In its letter dated January 27, 2026, the HCBA raised serious concerns about how additional court working days would affect lawyers, judges and court staff. The Association questioned the idea that simply increasing court sitting days or hours would automatically reduce the backlog of pending cases. According to the HCBA, such thinking ignores how the justice system actually functions on the ground.
The Bar Association said that while the proposal may look attractive at first glance, it would ultimately harm the justice delivery system.
Warning against the long-term consequences, the letter stated,
“Opening of courts on two Saturdays in a month needs to be resisted since it may appear to superficially attractive and appealing to the uninitiated but, eventually, it would affect the quality and quantity of justice while putting the legal fraternity, judicial fraternity & staff concerned to physical strain and psychological stress,”
Explaining the real working conditions of lawyers, the HCBA pointed out that although court timings are officially from 10 AM to 4 PM, the actual work of advocates goes far beyond these hours. Lawyers spend late evenings and nights preparing cases, drafting pleadings, researching laws and studying judgments. The Association stressed that weekends are not rest days for advocates but are often the most productive days for legal preparation.
Highlighting this reality, the letter said,
“Matters which may be complicated, time consuming and need extensive preparation are normally dealt with on Saturdays & Sundays… Infact Saturday and Sunday are the busiest day for lawyers,”
The Association warned that if courts start functioning on Saturdays, lawyers would lose crucial preparation time. This, it said, would directly affect the quality of legal assistance provided to litigants and could weaken case presentation before courts.
The HCBA also criticised what it described as a corporate-style approach being applied to the judiciary, where productivity is measured only by longer working hours. It argued that courts cannot function like corporate offices and that justice cannot be delivered efficiently under constant pressure.
According to the Association, judicial work requires focus, mental clarity and a stress-free environment. Extending court sitting days, it said, would only exhaust judges, lawyers and staff instead of improving outcomes.
The letter also drew attention to the heavy workload already faced by judges and court employees. It noted that judges often use weekends to write judgments and clear reserved matters. Court staff, on the other hand, are dealing with serious manpower shortages and are already struggling with delays in issuing certified copies of court orders.
Challenging the popular belief that fewer court working days cause case pendency, the HCBA strongly rejected this argument. It said that such claims are misleading and do not reflect the real reasons behind judicial delays.
The letter stated,
“We may point out that a fallacious narrative indicating pendency of cases in High Courts on account of courts working for a lesser number of days is setup by vested interest or persons not aware to the functioning of the judicial system,”
Calling for collective action, the HCBA urged other Bar Associations to pass formal resolutions opposing the proposal. It requested that these resolutions be sent to the Supreme Court, all High Courts, and the Union Law Minister to ensure that the concerns of the legal community are heard at the highest level.
The letter has been signed by HCBA President Rakesh Pande and Secretary Akhilesh Kumar Sharma.
The proposal to make High Courts sit on at least two Saturdays every month has gained momentum in recent months. The idea was also supported by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who suggested that additional working days could help reduce pendency.
However, the proposal has faced strong resistance from several Bar Associations across the country, including those in Delhi High Court Bar Association and Kerala High Court Advocates Association, which have warned that increasing court sittings without addressing infrastructure and manpower issues could place further strain on an already overburdened justice system.
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