Missed court dates?

Missed court dates? Here’s how you can avoid it.

November 8, 2022
The judiciary occupies an important place in the Indian federal system. The objective of the judicial system is to provide speedy and inexpensive relief to the affected. A court hearing is an opportunity presented by the court for the parties involved in litigation to present their point of view and facts. Litigants receive summons to appear in court. A summon is a legal document that orders your appearance in a specific court, on a specific date and at a specified time. Failure to appear is considered as an offence and is liable to be penalised depending on the gravity of the situation.

What happens when you miss a court hearing?

When you miss a court hearing, it can have an adverse effect on the case. Also, missing a court hearing is an offence all by itself. It can even lead to contempt of court.

If on the date of hearing, the applicant appears and the respondent or department is not represented, the court may adjourn the hearing or hear and decide the application ex parte. In such an event, the respondent may apply to the court for setting aside the order, giving sufficient cause to the satisfaction of the court and the court may set aside the ex parte hearing and hear the case afresh.

It is not obligatory for the court to dismiss an application for default if the applicant is not present or represented when the matter is called for hearing. In the absence of the applicant, the court can hear the counsel for the respondent, peruse the records placed before it, consider the applicant’s grievance with reference to the grounds urged by him/her in the application and then decide the application on merits.      

Common reasons for missing a court hearing

If circumstances beyond your control kept you from appearing in court, such as serious illness, an accident, or a natural disaster, this might be a defence to a charge of failure to appear. But you should be prepared with evidence of the emergency that prevented you from making it to court.

Though missing a court hearing can occur due to an inability to attend on the specified time and date, in many cases missing the hearing is the result of a mistake. The mistake can arise due to incorrect noting down of the hearing date, failure to receive summons within time, forgetfulness etc. 

How to avoid missing a court hearing

Sometimes it is possible to lose track of hearing dates amidst all the hustle bustle of everyday life. Lawyers are extremely busy people with multiple cases to handle. The situation is even more grim in legal departments that handle hundreds of cases. Monitoring regular case updates and keeping track of hearing dates is a very difficult task indeed. In many cases, lawyers might not even be aware that their matter is listed in a court! For such situations, what you need is a reliable and smart software solution like the one from Manage My Lawsuits. Manage My Lawsuits’ case management software is a smart AI-based software solution that automates processes such as case update tracking, hearing dates tracking, reminders, alerts etc. Our smart reminder system alerts you about upcoming hearing dates well in advance. This helps you to prepare better for upcoming hearing dates.

Consult us to know more about how software can make a difference in your legal department. 

Deepak Shivhare

Deepak Shivhare, Founder & CEO

Deepak K. Shivhare, has extensive experience working for multinational companies in roles that have put him at the intersection of business and technology.

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