Adjournment slips without reasons will not be accepted: Delhi High Court
Court directs that requests for adjournments must specify reasons to avoid rejection by court officers
The Delhi High Court has ruled that adjournment slips submitted for postponing case hearings must explicitly state the reasons for the request, or else they will not be accepted by court officers. The Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla took this step after noting that existing adjournment slip formats did not require mentioning reasons, leading to unexplained adjournment requests.
The directive came following a request by Dolby International, which sought adjournment without providing a reason in the slip, prompting surprise from the bench. While the Court did not approve Dolby’s adjournment request, it granted a re-notification of the case date as a “matter of indulgence.”
Furthermore, the Court instructed the Registry to update the adjournment slip pro forma on the Delhi High Court website to include a dedicated column for detailing reasons for adjournments. This move aims to ensure greater transparency and accountability in adjournment requests going forward.