National Litigation Policy to be in place soon – Law Minister Gowda

Union Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Saturday revealed that the much awaited National Litigation Policy is being reviewed by various ministries and will be approved soon. Gowda was speaking at the Lawyers Meet on Public Litigation Policy, Access to Justice and Environment Law held by the Bar Council of India in Chennai..He also appealed to the Bar and the Bench to strictly follow the policy so as to fight the ever-increasing pendency rates in courts across the country..A number of Supreme Court judges attended the meet including Justices J Chelameswar, Kalifulla, UU Lalit, and Kurian Joseph. Also present were judges of the Madras High Court including Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Agnihotri, Tamil Nadu Advocate General AL Somayaji and BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra..Each of the panellists had suggestions to improve the state of litigation practice in India, with particular emphasis on Tamil Nadu..The BCI’s MK Mishra called for the need to rid the bar of “undesirable elements” by enforcing the controversial BCI Certificate of Practice Rules..Mishra revealed that over 30% of advocates are indulging in business undertakings as opposed to appearing in courts. He also stated that many lawyers are practicing with fake degrees, citing ex-Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar as an example..Mishra also criticised the Bench’s role as the Central Authority under the Legal Services Authorities Act and went as far as to suggest that the responsibility of implementing the Act be shifted to the Bar..However, an impassioned Justice Gopala Gowda begged to differ with Mishra’s view. He retorted,.“Manan Kumar Mishra has got his facts wrong…While lawyers of the Bar travel everywhere by air, it is Supreme Court judges who are travelling by rail and road to remote areas to ensure that the poor get justice.”.Justice Kurian Joseph appealed to the press not to conduct media trials. He said,.“It causes immense pressure on a judge. After all, we are also human beings. A judge who gave the verdict in the Nirbhaya case once told me that he was afraid that he would be hanged if he didn’t give a favourable verdict.”.He also requested the Law Minister to visit the subordinate courts to witness the sorry state of affairs..Justice Banumathi made an appeal to all Senior Advocates to take up 3-4 juniors under their wing so as to improve the quality of the Bar. She said that this practice would help quell the frustration experienced by young lawyers during their early days of practice, and would in turn decrease the number of abstentions..On the topic of strikes and abstentions at the Madras High Court, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul commented in jest,.“While Justice Chelameswar can boast of a strike-free tenure at the Kerala High Court, I have failed miserably in this regard!”.He requested the Bar to employ forms of protest other than strikes so that litigants don’t suffer. He suggested that the striking lawyers learn from Japanese factory workers who are known to work harder as a sign of protest..He also stressed on the need to ensure that law colleges across the country impart quality legal education.