Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court recently expressed concern over advocates filing multiple memos or requests for urgent and early listing of cases.
A'mentioning memo’ is a formal written request by lawyers seeking an early hearing or out-of-turn listing of a case due to urgency. At the Karnataka High Court, advocates can make such requests either by filing a written memo and mentioning it before the court or through an online process.
On December 10, the judge urged advocates to uphold courtroom decorum, avoid speaking over each other, and refrain from submitting multiple memos for the same matter. He highlighted that over the past 29 days, his court had received 7,500 memos, of which 5,300 cases were already listed for hearing.
“Don’t give collection of memos. I am telling you, if all of you speak at once then I am not going to accept a single memo. Do you know how many memos are pending? 7,500..where should I go? 7,500 memos you have moved over the last 29 days and I have posted 5,300 of those memos. Beyond this, what can be posted? I am also a human being. You cannot milk the cow until it bleeds,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.
The remarks were made by the court on the morning of December 10, when several advocates gathered in Justice Nagaprasanna's courtroom seeking early hearing dates.
One lawyer repeatedly pressed for an early hearing date, stating that he had already moved 29 memos for the matter, yet it remained unlisted.
In response, Justice Nagaprasanna pointed out that numerous advocates were filing multiple memos for the same cases but were still unable to secure hearing dates. He emphasized that he was making every effort to list and hear as many matters as possible each day, but there were practical limitations to what could be achieved.
“There are many advocates here who have given memos 20 times and yet their matters have not come. What can I do?” the judge said.
Website designed, developed and maintained by webexy