Not many such cases have been recorded before in India when a judge is noted hearing pleas way beyond his working hours to dispose the urgent issues before going on their month-long Summer break. Justice S J Kathawalla of Bombay High Court is an inspiration that ways.

With the basic objective of reducing the number of pending cases in the court, Justice Kathawalla has been hearing pleas beyond the midnight since the last week. However, he broke all records on Friday when presided over a packed courtroom till 3.30 am, heard 135 arguments since morning.

Justice Kathawalla passed orders on petitions in his courtroom number 20 in presence of litigants and advocates."The courtroom was packed with senior counsels, lawyers and litigants, whose matters were being heard. There were over 100 civil petitions that had sought urgent interim reliefs," a senior counsel said.

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Hiren Kamod, an advocate who was in the court till the early hours said, "His dedication and commitment to work is unmatched. I was among the last three to leave the courtroom at 3:30 am." Most of the lawyers and litigants had appeared for arbitrations, Intellectual property rights and commercial matters.

Praising Justice Kathawalla for his dedication, Kamod added, "He finished his entire board. He sat from 11 am to 3:30 am in the courtroom and took just a 20-minute break. He was tirelessly sitting in one place, sharp and attentive till the end. It's commendable."

He added, "I was appearing in an Infringement of trademark matter in which got an injunction order against the defendant in the wee hours." The 59-year-old Justice Kathawalla sworn in as an additional judge at the HC in 2009 and became the permanent judge in July 2011.