Telangana High Court warns District Court judges of disciplinary action for not being punctual

The Telangana High Court on Thursday warned the judges in district courts of disciplinary action as it noted that many of them were not following the office timings strictly..In a circular issued on the administrative side, the High Court pointed out that many of the presiding officers in district judiciary were attending their courts late and leaving the court premises before 5 PM and also during the lunch recess.It further highlighted that the judicial officers also frequently leave the headquarters without permission of the High Court. This was happening despite issuance of about 15 circulars between 1992 and 2022 for strict adherence to court hours, as per the circular..“Despite issuance of circular instructions in the reference 1 to 15 ..., regarding observance of office timings and punctuality in holding public courts from 10.30 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. with lunch recess from 2.00 PM to 2.30 PM, it has come to the notice of the High Court that many of the Presiding Officers in District Judiciary are not strictly following the office timings and attending the Bench late, leaving for their residence during lunch recess and also leaving the court premises before 5.00 PM or frequently leaving the Head Quarters without permission of the Hon’ble High Court,” the High Court said in the circular..It added that such non-observance of the working hours leads to indiscipline, decrease in the rate of disposal of cases and affects the performance of judicial officers both qualitatively and quantitatively.“Axiomatically, punctuality is the hallmark of any discipline, especially in Judicial wing, and any deviation to this cardinal principle shakes the confidence of litigant public in the institution,” the circular stated..While reiterating its instructions, the High Court directed all the judicial officers to follow the court timing scrupulously, render devoted service, and do the entire judicial work on the bench during court hours. “All the Unit Heads are further directed to ensure that the circular instructions in the reference 1 to 15 cited (enclosed) are followed by the officers working under their control in true letter and spirit without any deviation,” it said. The instances of violation of instructions will be viewed seriously and will entail initiation of disciplinary action against the officers concerned, the High Court warned..[Read Circular]