“Two SC judges have no other job but to sit and stare at the clock” – SC to ASG in drought case

The Supreme Court today came down heavily upon the Central government and Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand for not being present in Court for the hearing in the case relating to drought..A Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and NV Ramana minced no words in expressing their displeasure at Anand’s absence even as a Ministry official held the fort admirably for nearly an hour..When the hearing began in court 8 today, the Centre was not represented by any law officer. The Court said that the Centre could not spare any of the ASGs despite the matter being of grave importance..An officer from the Ministry of Rural Development then argued the case..Subsequently, when quizzed about Anand’s absence, a junior advocate responded that she had a prior engagement in another court. This irked Justice Lokur, who retorted,.“Two Supreme Court judges have no other job but to come and sit here and stare at the clock and watch time ticking by…..You think drought is not important. There is a procedure to be followed. Inconvenience is to us. Not to you.”.This news might have reached Anand, who was in court 2 at that time. She immediately rushed to court 8 and apologised. The court told her that she cannot argue for 15 minutes and then leave the court. She was asked to commence her arguments tomorrow with the court then proceeding to hear various drought affected States..Subsequently, Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana governments made their submissions today. The States also came under fire from the Bench for not doing enough to arrest the consequences of the drought..Image courtesy:.Justice Lokur.Pinky Anand