In a brief but firm order, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up a lawyer for seeking an adjournment without informing the opposing counsel in advance. The Court imposed a cost of ₹15,000, observing that such conduct causes unnecessary inconvenience and cannot be encouraged.
The matter was heard by Justice Anish Dayal in a civil revision petition.
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Background of the Case
The petition, titled Om Praksh Malhotra & Anr. vs. Sachin Malhotra, was listed before the Court on January 28, 2026. When the matter was taken up, an adjournment was sought on behalf of the respondent.
Counsel for the petitioners objected to the request. It was pointed out that adjournments had already been sought on the previous two dates as well.
A proxy counsel appearing for the respondent submitted that the main counsel had to travel outside Delhi in connection with another matter in a different State.
Court’s Inquiry and Observation
During the hearing, the Court made a specific inquiry. It emerged that the counsel for the petitioners had not been informed in the morning about the respondent’s counsel being unavailable.
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Justice Dayal expressed strong disapproval of this approach. The Court noted that failing to inform the opposite side in advance leads to avoidable inconvenience.
“The manner of not informing the counsel of the opposite side is strongly deprecated by the Court, since it causes inconvenience to the other side’s counsel, for no reason whatsoever,” the bench observed in its order.
The Court’s remark made it clear that professional courtesy between lawyers is not optional but expected.
Decision of the Court
Taking note of the circumstances, the Court allowed the adjournment but imposed a cost.
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It directed that a sum of ₹15,000 be paid by the respondent’s counsel to the counsel for the petitioners within a period of two weeks.
The matter has now been re-notified for April 15, 2026.
With this direction, the Court concluded the proceedings for the day.
Case Title: Om Praksh Malhotra & Anr. vs. Sachin Malhotra
Case No.: C.R.P. 314/2024 & CM Appl. 63266/2024
Decision Date: January 28, 2026
