High Court Hears Petition After A Gap Of 23 Years!

Kolkata: A petition filed at the Calcutta High Court, last heard on December 22, 1997, was finally closed after 23 years.

The files of the petition, about a hospital’s alleged failure in handing over a new-born child to his mother, was found by officials in a cupboard, gathering dust, Hindustan Times reported.

Lamenting the “great misfortune” that the matter had been pending for such a long time, the two-member division bench of chief justice TB Radhakrishnan and justice Arijit Banerjee said: “Though different directions were issued with the further order to the registry of this court to list the matter after three months (from December 22, 1997), it is a matter of great misfortune that this matter is listed today (Friday) after 23 years of hibernation of this file in the cupboard of the high court.”

The court had directed the police to register a case and investigate the matter, but no action had been taken.

“We are in a judicial system. We cannot afford to stack files without the same being listed in spite of judicial orders,” the bench said.

Chief justice Radhakrishnan and justice Banerjee further stated that the court should consider initiating action for misconduct against the officers responsible — more so as it was a habeas corpus petition, which mandates that the involved party is brought before a court or a judge.

“When matters are not listed by the office of the high court in spite of judicial orders, it may, at least in certain situations, be appropriate that the courts should consider initiating action for misconduct against the officers concerned for having deflected the course of justice by disobeying judicial orders for posting a case,” the order said.