Bhubaneswar: Now, government lawyers will no longer have to suffer the ordeal of endless date extensions in court cases. To put an end to the repeated adjournments, the State Home Department has introduced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
According to the new SOP, government lawyers must submit monthly reports detailing the status of their cases. This report will include the case details, number of adjournments, reasons for delays, and court directives. If a witness is present in court, the lawyer cannot apply for unnecessary date extensions. Moreover, if the case has already been adjourned twice, no further extensions will be granted.
An important clause states that if the lawyer shows that they have another case scheduled on the same date in a different court, the request for adjournment will not be accepted. Similarly, if a witness is present but the opposing party is absent, the court can record the witness statement and proceed with cross-examination.
If a lawyer takes adjournments repeatedly without valid reasons, financial penalties may be imposed on the government side or the accused. According to data from the legislative assembly last March, nearly 2,087,347 cases are pending in various courts across the state, including the High Court.
One of the main reasons for the prolonged delays is repeated adjournments by lawyers. The absence of witnesses, investigating officers, and medical officers is also a significant cause for the delays.