Judges in India work 14 to 15 hours a day, have no work-life balance: Justice Prathiba Singh

Dispelling the misconception that judges in India do not work enough, Justice Prathiba M Singh of the Delhi High Court on Monday said that judges in fact have to put in 14 to 15 hours a day..As a result, they find it very difficult to maintain a work-life balance, Justice Singh added during a discussion over whether court vacations should be done away with to tackle the huge case pendency in India. "I frequently read in the media that we should stop summer vacations, winter vacations. There is this perception that judges work from 10:30 to 4:30 and then play golf. We work two hours before coming to court. Then sit in court till 4:30. Then do administrative work for an hour before finalising orders and then read tomorrow’s briefs. Let me tell you, judges in India work for 14 to 15 hours a day. We find it very difficult to maintain work-life balance.".Justice Singh also observed that it is not just a judge who has to bear the brunt of the work such a post demands. "Judges sacrifice a lot, but their families sacrifice more," Justice Singh said..Justice Singh made the observations while moderating a session titled The Most Enjoyable and Challenging Aspect of Judging, at the ongoing LAWASIA conference..The speakers for the session included Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Justice Sapna Pradhan Malla of the Supreme Court of Nepal, Judge Douglas John Humphreys CSC OAM Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and Justice Brian Preston, who heads the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, Australia..Responding to Justice Singh's observations on the working hours expected from judges, the other speakers agreed that it very difficult for a judge to maintain a balance between their work and personal lives..The other themes discussed during the session included the ways in which court judgments are made accessible for the public, the judges' experience in dealing with politically sensitive cases, the experience of being a woman in the legal profession and the impact of technology on court processes.."Lot of efforts are taken to educate public about legal rights. Judges are conscious of the language barriers. There have been some initiatives where judgments are translated to Sinhala though not Tamil," Justice Obeyesekere said, while commenting on ways to ensure that judgments reach the common man."Judges have to be mindful that judgments are written for litigants. Courts in Nepal write judgments in vernacular," Justice Malla said in response to question on whether judges should avoid legalese while writing judgments..Tackling a question on pressure on judges while handling politically sensitive matters, Justice Obeyesekere replied,"I have been involved in cases where interim orders were given to suspend PM and cabinet ministers and there were no repercussions."In response to question on judicial dissents, Justice Malla observed that most judges are open to having dissenting opinions."Dissenting opinions are largely accepted but judges do discuss. Senior judges to take views of junior judge, etc," she added..The question and answer session of the event also saw Justice Singh allude to the subtle challenges that women lawyers continue to face in India."One thing we face is, women lawyers can’t be very aggressive because we are labelled as cantankerous while a male lawyer being aggressive is seen as robust. These are small issues women in law face. Families are many times not favourable to women litigating but despite that more and more women and joining the profession," she said..The 36th LAWASIA conference commenced on November 24, Friday and is slated to conclude later today.