The vacation and the absence of one judge in a two-judge bench forced Justice Deepak Gupta to handle a huge number of cases in the Supreme Court on June 5. Including a number of “mentions”, judge Gupta’s “score” for the day was a stupendous 33.
Justice M Shantanagoudar was supposed to be the second judge on the bench, but when he reported unwell, Chief Justice JS Khehar persuaded Justice Gupta to take up the pending cases alone, it is learnt.
This created a somewhat unique situation at the apex court where the minimum norm is a two-judge bench.
It was not possible to summon another judge, because the vacation meant most judges were out of Delhi.
—India Legal Bureau