The DHCBA has objected to the Delhi High Court’s decision requiring benches to work one Saturday every month, saying it causes “deep concern” and disrupts lawyers’ work-life balance. The Bar said the move was made without consulting advocates and urged the court to reconsider.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) has strongly objected to the Delhi High Court’s recent decision that requires each Bench of the court to work on one Saturday every month.
In a letter sent to Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, the Bar Association said that the decision of the Full Court, issued on October 4, has caused “deep concern and disquiet” among advocates.
The Association said the move will create several problems, including
“practical inconvenience, lack of uniformity, and disruption of work-life balance.”
The DHCBA has requested the High Court to either suspend the new rule or make one single Saturday the working day for all Benches of the court in a month.
The letter said,
“While the Delhi High Court Bar Association holds the highest regard for the decisions of the Full Court and fully supports all initiatives aimed at improving judicial efficiency and reducing pendency, it is most respectfully submitted that the Bar was neither consulted nor informed before such a decision was taken. Since the functioning of Courts necessarily involves the active participation of Advocates, the absence of any consultation with the Bar has caused genuine hardship and a sense of exclusion,”
According to the new rule announced by the Delhi High Court, different Benches will sit on different Saturdays every month.
The October 4 notification stated,
“It has been resolved by Hon’ble the Full Court in its meeting held on 22.09.2025 that each Bench of this Court shall observe one working Saturday of every month as a Court working day during the Calendar Year 2025.”
The Bar Association argued that such an arrangement will make it difficult for lawyers to plan their schedules and personal time.
The DHCBA said,
“Further, under the present arrangement, the members of the Bar would be required to be available every Saturday for the Benches that may sit on different dates. This effectively results in lawyers being required to work on all Saturdays, without any uniformity and predictability. This would lead to practical inconvenience and considerable difficulty for Advocates and will disrupt work-life balance and impose disproportionate burdens on the members of the Bar,”
The Association stressed that while it supports all measures to improve judicial efficiency, the participation and consultation of the legal community are essential before implementing any policy that directly affects advocates.
It said that without uniformity, the move would disturb lawyers’ professional and personal routines, leading to unnecessary confusion and imbalance in the functioning of the legal system.
The DHCBA has therefore urged the Delhi High Court to reconsider the decision and adopt a more uniform system that allows lawyers and court staff to maintain both efficiency and balance in their work lives.
Click Here to Read More Reports On DHCBA
