Today, On 28th May, the Supreme Court said that senior lawyers should not argue cases during the court’s partial working days in summer, starting new talks about courtroom discipline, fairness in hearings, and lawyers’ professional responsibility.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court stated that senior lawyers should refrain from arguing cases during the summer recess.
A bench including Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma emphasized that junior lawyers should be provided with opportunities during the vacation period.
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The bench remarked to senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Neeraj Kishan Kaul,
“Senior lawyers should not argue cases during these partial working days,”
The lawyers were representing a plea challenging an order from the National Company Law Tribunal.
One of the counsels in the case requested an adjournment because senior advocate Shyam Divan was unavailable.
The Supreme Court has renamed its traditional summer vacations as “partial court working days.”
This change is part of an amendment to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, now referred to as the Supreme Court (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024, which was notified on November 5.
The notification stated,
“The length of the partial court working days and the number of holidays for the court and the offices of the court shall be such as may be fixed by the Chief Justice and notified in the official gazette so as not to exceed 95 days excluding Sundays,”
Previously, the Supreme Court observed summer and winter breaks each year, although it was not completely closed during these times.
During the summer, the Chief Justice would establish “vacation benches” to address important and urgent matters.
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Notably, the term “vacation judge” has been replaced with “judge” in the newly amended rules.
According to the recently published 2025 Supreme Court calendar, the partial court working days will commence on May 26, 2025, and conclude on July 14, 2025.