High Court recalls 2046 deferral of elderly's defamation case, sets July hearing
Earlier, the Bombay High Court adjourned a 2017 defamation suit to 2046, calling it an "ego fight" between elderly litigants that clogs the system.
A day after pushing a defamation suit to 2046 and calling it an "ego fight" between parties at the "fag end of their lives", the Bombay High Court on Wednesday altered its order, listing the case for hearing in July this year.
In a sharp rebuke to protracted personal litigation, the court on Tuesday had deferred the 2017 defamation suit to 2046, warning that such disputes clog the judicial system and divert attention from cases that need more priority.
A bench of Justice Jitendra Jain had made the observation while hearing a case filed by nearly 90-year-old woman, Tarinibahen Desai, against fellow senior citizen Kilkilraj Bhansali.
The court had observed that disputes of this nature consume valuable judicial time and hinder the prioritisation of urgent matters, terming it an "ego fight" that "clogs the system". It also noted that an amicable resolution through unconditional apologies had been suggested earlier, but Desai chose to continue pursuing the defamation claim.
On Wednesday, however, counsel for the plaintiff, Swaraj Jadhav, sought removal of the remarks made against his client. The court accepted the request, ordered deletion of the observations, and advanced the next hearing date.
"Delete lines 4 and 5 of paragraph 2 of the order dated 28 April 2026 and replace paragraph 3 with List this matter on 15 July 2026 for further consideration," the court directed.
On Tuesday, Justice Jain had criticised the litigants for continuing the dispute, observing that such persistence “prevents the Court from taking up the matters which really requires more priority”.
With the modification, the High Court has now brought forward the hearing from 2046 to July 15, 2026.