Calcutta, Nov. 14: The bar council and the government have rejected the Supreme Court’s proposal to introduce an evening shift in subordinate courts to cope with the pile-up of pending cases.

The apex court had sent the proposal to Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court V.S. Sirpurkar, asking him to also seek the government’s and the bar council’s opinions.

The second shift — 5 pm to 11 pm with an hour’s recess — will prove a security nightmare for advocates, said the executive committee of the council, which met yesterday.

“Lawyers have to do lot of homework. How will they get the time if they have to attend court in the evenings as well?” a council functionary asked.

In a letter to the bar council, government pleader Sovanlal Hazra also said that providing enough security for lawyers at night would not be easy for the government.

Over 18 lakh cases, some of them decades old, are pending with the 202 subordinate courts in Bengal.

Sirpurkar had requested the government to introduce at least one evening court in each district for disposal of long-pending criminal cases. He also suggested that retired judges be appointed as magistrates of the courts for the evening shifts.

During a visit to the city in September, Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal had stressed the importance of another shift. Activating the lok adalat and fast-track courts would not help reduce the number of pending cases, he had said.

Around 3.2 crore cases are pending across the country. Of these, 2.75 crore are with subordinate courts.