How a Case in Allahabad High Court Was Adjourned

By Justice Markandey Katju
Former Judge of Indian Supreme Court
Mumbai, India

Justice Mushtaq Ahmad was a Judge of the Allahabad High Court in the 1950s. He was regarded a very strict Judge who never granted adjournments.

Once a senior lawyer of the High Court had a case fixed in his court, but on that very day he had an important case fixed in Patna High Court, and the Patna case was more important. So, he wanted an adjournment in the case fixed before Justice Mushtaq Ahmad, but did not know how to get it

He told his predicament to Munshi Jwala Prashad, the Joint Registrar of the High Court in charge of listing of cases, whom he knew. Munshi Jwala Prashad told him not to worry, and he could go to Patna, and he (Munshi Jwala Prashad) would manage everything.

On the morning of the day fixed for the case before Justice Mushtaq Ahmad, Munshi Jwala Prashad went to the house of the Judge, looking very depressed, and met him. Justice Mushtaq Ahmad enquired why he had come, and why he was looking so depressed. Munshi Jwala Prashad turned his face down in a dejected manner and said that he could not relate what had happened. 

When Justice Ahmad pressed him to tell, Munshi Jwala Prashad said that the rascals in the High Court registry had printed his name as 'Justice Mushtaq Ahmaq', instead of 'Justice Mushtaq Ahmad' in the High Court cause list. They had told about this to several lawyers, who had planned to peep inside Justice Ahmad's court when proceedings were going on and enjoy the fun.

Now in Urdu the word 'ahmaq' means a fool.

Justice Mushtaq Ahmed was incensed and said he did not like such a dirty joke, and so he would not sit in court that day. 

In this way the case was adjourned.

(Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India who served as chairman of the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014)