TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (8) TMI 535
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....at no such adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during hearing of the appeal." 3. In terms of proviso to the said sub section, CESTAT could have not granted adjournment more than three times to a party during the hearing of appeal. Even for adjourning the matter reasons have to be recorded in writing. In absence of any appearance or request for adjournment even the requirement of recording the reason for granting adjournment can be recorded. 4. Hon'ble Supreme Court has in the case of Ishwarlal Mali Rathod v. Gopal, Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 14117-14118/2021, order dated 20.09.2021, observed as follows:- "12. The proceedings in the second appeal before theHigh Court, if we allow ourselves to say so, epitomises the corrosive effect that adjournments can have on a litigation and how a lis can get entangled in the tentacles of an octopus. The philosophy of justice, the role of a lawyer and the court, the obligation of a litigant and all legislative commands, the nobility of the Bench and the Bar, the ability and efficiency of all concerned and ultimately the divinity of law are likely to make way for apathy and indifference when delay of the prese....
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....a line from Southwell "creeping snails have the weakest force" [ Robert Southwell, "Loss in Delay", in William B. Turnbull (Ed.), The Poetical Works of the Rev. Robert Southwell (John Russell Smith, London 1856), p. 60.] . Slightly more than five decades back, talking about the responsibility of the lawyers, Nizer Louis had put thus: "I consider it a lawyer's task to bring calm and confidence to the distressed client. Almost everyone who comes to a law office is emotionally affected by a problem. It is only a matter of degree and of the client's inner resources to withstand the pressure." [ Nizer Louis, My Life in Court (Doubleday & Co. Inc., New York 1961), p. 213] A few lines from the illustrious Justice Frankfurter is fruitful to recapitulate: "I think a person who throughout his life is nothing but a practising lawyer fulfils a very great and essential function in the life of society. Think of the responsibilities on the one hand, and the satisfaction on the other, to be a lawyer in the true sense." [ Felix Frankfurter, "Proceedings in Honor of Mr. Justice Frankfurter and Distinguished Allumni, Occasional Pamphlet No. 3" (Harvard Law School, Cambridge, 1960), p....
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....in unaffected by the course adopted in this case. Even so, in situations like this, when the court mulcts the party with costs for the failure of his advocate to appear, we make it clear that the same court has power to permit the party to realise the costs from the advocate concerned. However, such direction can be passed only after affording an opportunity to the advocate. If he has any justifiable cause the court can certainly absolve him from such a liability." Be it noted, though the said passage was stated in the context of strike by the lawyers, yet it has its accent on non­appearance by a counsel in the court. 18. In this context, we may refer to the pronouncement in Pandurang Dattatraya Khandekar v. Bar Council of Maharashtra [(1984) 2 SCC 556 : 1984 SCC (Cri) 335] , wherein the Court observed that : (SCC p. 563, para 9) "9. ... An advocate stands in a loco parentis towards the litigants and it therefore follows that the client is entitled to receive disinterested, sincere and honest treatment especially where the client approaches the advocate for succour in times of need." 19. In Lt. Col. S.J. Chaudhary v. State (Delhi Admn.) [(1984) 1 SCC 722 : 1984 SCC (Cr....
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....f sovereign and democratic India is accounted as extremely vital in deciding that the nation's administration was to be governed by the rule of law." The Bench emphasised on the role of eminent lawyers in the framing of the Constitution. The emphasis was also laid on the concept that lawyers are the officers of the court in the administration of justice. 22. In R.K. Garg v. State of H.P. [(1981) 3 SCC 166 : 1981 SCC (Cri) 663] , Chandrachud, C.J., speaking for the Court pertaining to the relationship between the Bench and the Bar, opined thus : (SCC p. 170, para 9) "9. ... the Bar and the Bench are an integral part of the same mechanism which administers justice to the people. Many members of the Bench are drawn from the Bar and their past association is a source of inspiration and pride to them. It ought to be a matter of equal pride to the Bar. It is unquestionably true that courtesy breeds courtesy and just as charity has to begin at home, courtesy must begin with the Judge. A discourteous Judge is like an illtuned instrument in the setting of a courtroom. But members of the Bar will do well to remember that such flagrant violations of professional ethics and cultured ....