CJI Surya Kant (File photo)

NEW DELHI: If a citizen faces a legal emergency or is threatened with arrest by probe agencies at unearthly hours, the person will be able to seek a hearing from constitutional courts even in the dead of night for protection of fundamental rights and liberties, the Chief Justice of India said. "My endeavour is and will be to make the Supreme Court and high courts people's courts which can be approached at any time beyond working hours in legal emergencies," CJI Surya Kant told TOI. The CJI said one of his priorities is to set up as many constitution benches as possible to deal with pending petitions raising several important constitutional issues - like the one thrown up by a bunch of petitions challenging validity of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which started from Bihar and is now being carried out in a dozen states.

The bench on SIR would take up the issues after conclusion of the countrywide updation of electoral rolls.

'Want approachable people's courts'

CJI Kant said he would also examine the feasibility of setting up a nine-judge bench to decide many petitions that articulate the clash between religious freedom and women's rights. The issue arises in three categories of cases, including petitions seeking review of the SC order allowing women of all ages into Sabarimala temple.

By custom, women of menstruating age were barred from going inside Sabarimala shrine. Another set of pleas challenge the practice of female genital mutilation among Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community and the ban on entry of women into mosques, and, the third set question denial of entry into Agiary (Zoroastrian temple) of Parsi women who marry outside the community.Now, lawyers can't argue for days in high-stake cases In another significant development, it would no longer be permissible for renowned lawyers to argue for days together in high-stake matters.

CJI Surya Kant has decided to enforce strict timelines for advocates to complete arguments. "The constitutional courts will function like hospitals with emergency wards. In case of a legal emergency, a citizen, irrespective of status, can knock on the doors of Supreme Court even at midnight to seek redress of an urgent grievance and seek protection of individual rights and liberty," CJI Kant said. There will never be another case like the one arising from settlement dispute between Ambani brothers in which lawyers argued for 26 days in SC.

"This is to ensure that poor litigants not only get free legal assistance but also an equal share of court time during hearing of their cases," the CJI said. Apart from mandatory submission of written submissions not exceeding five pages at least three days prior to the hearing, SC has issued a circular saying, "Senior advocates, arguing counsel and/or advocate-on-record, shall submit the timelines for making oral arguments in all post-notice and regular hearing matters, at least a day prior to the commencement of the hearing of the case." To speed up hearing in pending cases, the CJI said, "Various special categories have been identified for priority listing to send a message that Supreme Court is a people's court."