Justice B.R. Gavai announced the Supreme Court will function with three Vacation Benches every week during summer break. The move ensures continued access to justice even during holidays.
During a recent hearing, Justice B.R. Gavai of the Supreme Court of India announced that the top court will continue working in a limited way even during the upcoming summer vacation.
He confirmed that,
“during the summer recess, the apex court will function with three Vacation Benches each week,” which shows that the Court is now treating vacations as working periods.
Justice Gavai, who is expected to become the next Chief Justice of India on May 14, made this statement while hearing a case related to the blocking of the YouTube channel “4PM News.”
This year, the summer break for the Supreme Court will start from May 26, 2025, and regular full court functioning will resume on July 14, 2025.
While discussing the change in the summer working style of the Court,
Justice Gavai made an important comment:
“Vacations are partial working days now. It is not a vacation now. We are having three benches working every week.”
This statement came in response to Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for the petitioner. He had asked the Court for an early hearing of the matter before the summer vacation.
However, the Court had already issued a notice stating that the matter would be listed after two weeks, and hence, the petition would come up during the vacation itself.
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The decision to keep the Court partially working during the vacation comes after a major change made in 2024. That year, the Court officially amended its rules to recognize the summer vacation as a period of “partial Court working days.”
This amendment was made keeping in mind the need for continuous access to justice even during breaks. In fact, during the 2024 summer break, vacation benches managed to decide over 1,170 cases.
This clearly shows that the Supreme Court is serious about reducing pendency and helping people get justice faster.
Although the official list of judges for the Vacation Benches in 2025 is still awaited, the Supreme Court has already released a notice with important information about how cases will be handled during the summer session.
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According to the notice:
- “Miscellaneous Matters (including fresh, after notice, and adjourned matters) will be listed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.”
- “Regular Hearing Matters (including urgent miscellaneous matters) will be heard on Wednesdays and Thursdays.”
- “All Bail Matters, irrespective of filing date, will be listed during the partial working days.”
- “A hybrid hearing option will be available, allowing advocates and parties-in-person to appear via video conferencing.”
- “The Court Registry will remain operational throughout the partial working period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. However, the Registry will also open on Saturday, July 12, 2025, the last Saturday before full functioning resumes.”
These steps show that the Supreme Court is taking a progressive and people-friendly approach. By keeping three benches working each week and allowing hybrid hearings, the Court is making sure that justice does not stop, even when it is vacation time.
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