PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1091
documents or some other subpoena that has been issued by the court, comes with nothing except a petition asking for a postponement. If the postponement is not granted, he either abandons his pleader thinking that he has no influence with the judge, because he has not been able to get the adjournment or postponement or he becomes thoroughly dissatisfied and the court has to consider whether in the interests of avoiding delay his application should be rejected. It may be that in view of the ignorance of our general mass of population they cannot be expected to be prepared with everything at the appointed time, and if they are not given time, even though their cause may be very just, it may be lost.
Secondly, so far as the procedural law is concerned, there is all the method and all the rules necessary for avoiding delay. If our people who want to litigate about matters of dispute were more expeditious, more efficient and more alert in collecting their evidence, they themselves would avoid a great deal of delay that takes place in the matter of litigation.
Dr. P. S. Deshmukh : What about the delays in the High Courts ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Well, the delays in the High Courts also to a large extent are due to this fact. My honourable friend probably does not know, as I happen to know, that many of our people believe in astrology. When they are told that their case is fixed on a particular date, they first go to the astrologer to find out whether that is an auspicious day, and if they find that it is not an auspicious day, they run up to Bombay and get in touch with the office of the Registrar of the High Court, sometimes bribe the clerks heavily in order to take the case of the board on that particular day. I know many such cases. Therefore, we have done so far as procedural law is concerned to avoid delay.
Shrimati G. Durgabai: Is not delay due to the printing of the records which takes a very long time ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Well, I suppose, in view of the fact that the Privy Council has laid down that