'Judiciary Alone Blamed For Case Pendency' : Justice Dipankar Datta Refers To Parliamentary Response

Justice Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court on Monday remarked that the judiciary often bears the blame for mounting case pendency despite not being solely responsible, referring to a recent newspaper report on Parliamentary discussions over judicial delays.

The remarks were made during the hearing of a special leave petition filed by chartered accountant Tehmul Burjor Sethna challenging a Gujarat High Court order refusing her request to produce additional evidence in support of a medical certificate.

When the matter was taken up, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Sethna, sought to raise the issue of costs imposed by the High Court. However, Justice Datta declined to interfere with the High Court's order.

During the exchange, Justice Datta observed that the judiciary is frequently criticised over pendency even though the reasons for delays extend beyond the courts.

"We are at the receiving end. We have seen today's newspaper. Parliamentary debates are going on that we are not living up to the expectations of the people," Justice Datta said.

In response, Dave remarked that the judiciary had become the "favourite beating stick" whenever questions of pendency and delays arose.

Justice Datta then quoted Sri Sarada Devi, the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, saying:

"Don't look at the fault of others. Look at yours."

The Court ultimately declined to interfere with the Gujarat High Court's order.

Justice Datta was reportedly referring to a written response filed by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal answering a query on case pendency. As per the response, over 10,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court for more than 10 years and about 80,000 in High Courts for more than 30 years.

Earlier, while speaking at a conference, Justice Datta had said that the judiciary alone cannot be blamed for case arrears, when it was the executive which contributed most to frivolous litigation.

Case Details: TEHMUL BURJOR SETHNA Vs STATE OF GUJARAT|SLP(Crl) No. 12800/2026