'Were you a marathon runner?': Delhi HC judge hears cases till midnight

In an unusual occurrence, a Delhi High Court vacation bench heard the cases placed before it for over 13 hours on Monday, leaving the virtual courtroom just after midnight after taking up all of the proceedings.

At 10.30 a.m., Justice Jasmeet Singh started to hear petitions as part of the division bench led by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, and subsequently, at 3 p.m., as a single-judge bench, he heard cases till 11.30 p.m. While the division bench heard 19 cases, Justice Singh heard a total of 40 cases as the single bench.

Reportedly, the Delhi High Court is now on vacation for the summer, with only two judges sitting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to handle urgent issues. Due to the outbreak, the cases are now being addressed via video conference.

Many of the lawyers who took part in the virtual sessions praised Justice Singh for working extra hours. Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, who was representing PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited is the most recent matter heard by the court, asked the court for permission to raise a question at the end of the session.

“May I use this opportunity to ask your lordship a question?” What did your lordship do in college? “Was your lordship a marathon runner?” Krishnan inquired, eliciting laughter from the virtual courtroom.

In response to ED Counsel Amit Mahajan, Justice Singh replied "We all learn from Mr Mahajan. You work hard and you party hard. Mr Mahajan's mantra... we are all progressively acquiring that motto,” the judge joked. Mahajan answered that there are no longer any parties.

On 24th February, Justice Singh was assigned to the bench.