On average, Corporate India employees work 310 days a year. This year, SC judges will work 190 days. Shouldn't they take fewer vacations and clear pending cases?
Now, here is something that is not discussed enough.
With the judiciary becoming more and more important to address issues of legality, justice, and the Constitution, it is important that a nation’s democracy has this facility available throughout the year. However, a look at the court calendars will tell you that the judiciary loves to take its vacations.
It begs a simple question: why should courts be on vacation for so long? And what can the judiciary learn from Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and L&T boss SN Subrahmanyan’s work hour formulas?
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Gigantic pile-up of cases
You have all heard the ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ quotation. When you look at the number of pending cases, it makes sense, too.
The Supreme Court’s work calendar resembles a school almanac. Even schools don’t have such long breaks – 49 days of summer vacation, six days of Holi, Dussehra, and Diwali holidays each, and 11 days of winter vacation.
According to the Supreme Court Observer (SCO) website, which in turn cites data from the Indian Judiciary Annual Report, there were a total of 58,000 pending cases in the Supreme Court alone in 2019. This increased to 82,400 in 2025. And yes, this is just the Supreme Court. This is not where India’s real legal battles and struggles exist.
A look at the high court and district courts, and the picture is even more disturbing.
In December 2023, the government informed the Lok Sabha that India has over 5 crore pending cases. That’s right. India’s 25 high courts have a pending backlog of 62 lakh cases. And the real tragedy is in the district, sessions and subordinate courts, where a whopping 4.4 crore cases are pending.
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Good intention, poor delivery
What chance do people have to deserve justice?
You would think that the court must be taking these pendencies seriously, right? Well, the courts have been quick in acknowledging the fact, but it has rarely gone beyond just acknowledgement.
We did see slight improvements in the disposition of cases. However, the solutions provided were too few to show an effect.
But the courts’ efforts at delivering speedy justice, better rostering, and all other solutions seem peripheral. No amount of cases can be disposed of to end the pendencies. And none of this change will begin if the court doesn’t even convene.
Love for vacations
Our judiciary loves taking breaks.
Let’s tell you their vacation track record. The SCO website says that in 2025, the Supreme Court will be operational only for 190 days. That’s right. Out of 365, the apex court will not be available for almost 50 per cent of the days. If you remove Saturday and Sunday, a year still has 261 working days.
Now imagine this in the context of your own workplace. Imagine you have a ton of work piled up. And instead of finishing that work, you go on leave. Will your company continue to keep you?
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The Supreme Court’s work calendar resembles a school almanac. Even schools don’t have such long breaks – 49 days of summer vacation, six days of Holi, Dussehra, and Diwali holidays each, and 11 days of winter vacation. I am not even counting all the festivals on which the courts are shut.
Will your boss ever allow this?
Would your boss allow this?
The high courts aren’t far behind. In 2025, they would work for a total of 210 days. Of course, this is an estimate as each high court has a different work calendar. And yes, the situation is much the same for district sessions and other courts.
I repeat my question. Would your boss allow this?
Watch | Why Narayana Murthy's 70-hour work week is unrealistic?
We all heard Infosys founder Murthy’s pitch for a 70-hour workweek. I don’t think that’s ideal because nowhere in the world do people work so much.
L&T boss Subrahmanyan went a step further. He proposed a 90-hour workweek, including Sundays. “What will you do at home? How long will you look at your wife’s face?” he said in a controversial remark.
Corporate leave structure
Let’s be kind to our judges. No one wants them to work on Sundays. Or even on a Saturday. But given the high pendency of cases, shouldn't the Indian judiciary stop luxuriating on scheduled vacations?
Shouldn't there be a Corporate India sort of setup in the judiciary as well? Just like you get leave days credited every year, why can’t the judiciary have that too?
On average, Corporate India employees get 20-24 days of earned leave, 7-10 days of casual leave, and 10-14 days of sick leave in a year. For women, there’s usually a three to six-month maternity leave. How about applying this same model on the judiciary?
Also read: 70 hours workweek? Narayana Murthy says he is all for it, but none should demand it
Wouldn’t it be cool? Our courts will always be available in some form or the other to the people. Judges and judicial staff would get just the right amount of time they need for breaks, just like the rest of us. They will be well-rested.
And above all, their availability will solve the pendency problem to a great degree.
Why should judges have all the fun!
Milords have been offered various suggestions in the past, too, on reducing their vacations. But so far, there is no solution in sight. In February 2024, the then chief justice of India, DY Chandrachud, responded to this criticism.
At a private event, he remarked that judges work all seven days of the week, preparing for judgments to be delivered. He also said that district judges set up legal aid camps over the weekend.
Also read: Infosys urges employees not to work longer hours, ensure work-life balance
Let us go back to our lives for inspiration once again. As employees of a company, can you truly switch your mind off work during weekends? It does get counted as a weekly off, but you are always connected and wired. Aren’t you?
Then why does the judiciary get to showcase it as a virtue, and you don’t?
If the judiciary does indeed want to work 190 days, I guess who are we to challenge milords? But do our judges have a better solution to reduce and dispose of 5 crore pending cases?
The nation is judging you, milords.
(The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal.)
