The main legal point established in the judgment is the need for expeditious disposal of writ petitions and the provision for hearing and disposing of matters on merits in the absence of respondents as per Rule 13(b).

( 1 ) A point of procedure has been raised by the respondents'learned Counsel which concerns the conduct of writ petitions in this High Court. Under the scheme prevalent as of now, which is evolved as a matter of practice and which is in keeping with the rules framed by the High Court for the conduct of writ petitions, the Court often orders notice to the respondents at the initial stage of hearing of the Petition. This is obviously with the intention of hearing the other side even on the question of issue of Rule Nisi but more importantly, for purposes of ascertaining whether the matter can be disposed of at that stage itself without going into the procedure of formally admitting the petition and setting it down for hearing. This is basically governed by the objective of expediency because the High Court has taken serious notice of the mounting arrears and of the fact that a relief granted at a belated stage may hardly provide succour to the aggrieved litigant. Moreover, there is a whole class of cases wherein timely Justice can be dispensed after a quick assessment of the dispute' and tedious formalities of filing lengthy pleadings etc. , can be curtailed. There is a saving of time, expenditure and above all, disposal without delay.

( 2 ) THE High Courts in this Country have progressively evolved various norms geared to wards expeditious disposal and for purposes of speeding up processes. It is undoubtedly with the assistance and co-operation of the Bar that these steps are being implemented. There are instances when the service of notice can be dispensed with if the corrective action is not going to prejudice the respondents or in other case where that course of action is necessary. Where it is considered essential to serve notice on the respondents, there exists a pre-supposition that the respondents will appear and that they will either show-cause or produce whatever material they so desire when they appear. The object of issuing notice is often misconceived as a licence to protract the proceedings as is evident from the fact that on the first date of hearing after service, a statement is made by the lawyer on behalf of the respondents that "instructions have not been received" or that "objections are to be filed and that the same are not ready". The records of this High Court indicate that in only 0. 05% of the cases, the respondents are ready on the the first date of hearing after service of notice and it ie unfortunate that in only 0. 25% of the cases, the Statement of Objections is filed and served on the other side when the matter is listed after service. The service of notice itself drags on for weeks and months and often years with the matter coming up before the court for all sorts of reasons, the most common being that the petitioner who has obtained the desired interim orders has neither paid the process fee nor complied with the other procedural requirements for service of notice on the respondents. Despite these delays, even after the service is complete, the records indicate that in 80% of the cases, the Statement of objections is filed after atleast three adjournments and in 45% of the cases, more than six months after the service of notice on the respondents. This has accounted for multiple hearings of each petition and an abnormally large backlog of writ petitions all of which are at the preliminary stage of hearing. An examination of this pending matter indicates that in 85% of these Petitions, the matter could have been disposed of within five minutes had the two sides been ready with their material when the matter was listed on the first occasion. The ultimate sufferer in this state of affairs is the litigant as the entire system is unnecessarily choked up.

( 3 ) AS far as this High Court is concerned, at the preliminary stage when notice is issued and it is reasonably certain that the matter can be disposed of after hearing the two parties, the petition is listed in the 'b' Group. Und