The Madhya Pradesh High Court has withdrawn an order issued on May 10, 2022, after being informed that this order was being misused by lawyers for the purpose of pursuing specific judges or benches.

A panel consisting of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra also discovered that the lawyers in question openly acknowledged their engagement in "bench hunting," a practice wherein litigants or legal practitioners attempt to have their cases scheduled before judges they believe will deliver favorable rulings.

In their order dated October 10, 2023, the Court concurred with the apprehension that the act of bench hunting was detrimental to both lawyers and judges. Consequently, the Court granted a request to revoke the May 10 order, which was purportedly being exploited to engage in bench hunting.

Through the order issued on May 10, 2022, the Court had instructed that no cases in which Advocate Vinayak Prasad Shah was involved should be scheduled before any bench that included Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav as a member. This order was established in a 2022 writ petition, which was subsequently dismissed in January of this year.

Nonetheless, the Court was recently apprised of a situation where the May 10 order was being misused by certain parties to engage in bench hunting for their own benefit.

It was reported that litigants were now retaining the services of Advocate Shah with the intent of manipulating court proceedings, essentially guaranteeing that their cases would not be scheduled before a specific bench.

Consequently, a petition was submitted to request a review of the May 10 order and to have it rescinded. The petition argued that bench hunting is detrimental to both the legal profession and the judiciary. The plea asserted, "Because, prohibition on listing of cases of a particular advocate before a specific bench is a form of bench hunting, which is not conducive to the fair and effective administration of justice."

Fully concurring with the concerns presented in the plea, the Court granted the review petition and annulled the May 10 order.

Read/Download Order: Advocate Union for democracy and social justice V. High Court of MP and Ors.