Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said on Friday that there will be no Supreme Court bench available from December 17 to January 1 during the coming winter vacation.
The CJI’s announcement in the apex court assumes significance in the wake of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, in which he said there is a feeling among people that long judicial holidays are not very convenient for justice seekers.
“There will be no benches available from tomorrow till January 1,” Justice Chandrachud informed the lawyers present in the courtroom at the outset.
Friday is the Supreme Court’s last business day before the two-week winter break. The Supreme Court will reopen on January 2.
The question of judicial vacations has been raised earlier, but judges, including former CJI N V Raman, said there is a misconception that judges stay in maximum comfort and enjoy vacations.
Delivering the inaugural Justice SB Sinha Memorial Lecture on ‘Life of a Judge’ in Ranchi in July, the then CJI Ramana had said that judges spend sleepless nights reviewing their decisions.
“There is a misconception in people’s minds that judges stay in maximum comfort, work only from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and enjoy holidays. Such a story is false… when false stories are created about the supposed easy life of judges it is difficult swallow it,” he said.
Justice Ramana said the responsibility of judging is extremely onerous because of the human impact of the judgments.