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Legal forum: 'Courts should fine people who try to waste time'

Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy releases annual briefing book
Last Updated 16 February 2018, 20:55 IST
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a not-for-profit legal think tank, released its annual briefing book titled “15 Legal Reforms for Karnataka” at Mother Tekla Auditorium on Friday.

The event marked the release of three reports — a study of financing of urban local bodies of Karnataka, a study of Karnataka High Court’s writ jurisdiction and waste picker welfare law in Karnataka.

In tackling these subjects, the report authors proposed several solutions, including property tax reform, urban water supply reforms, advertisement tax and scientific classification of writ petitions.
 
Vidhi also showcased its website, Nyaya, which hopes to simplify complicated legal jargon for people and increase society's knowledge of the law.

Alok Prassana, Senior Resident Fellow and Head of Vidhi’s Bengaluru chapter, moderated a panel discussion between Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta Karnataka and former Justice of Supreme Court of India; Rohini Nilekani, well-known philanthropist; and Dr A Ravindera, former Government of Karnataka Chief Secretary.

Outlining legal reforms required in the state, Prassana said that Karnataka required discussions of a formal startup policy. He recommended the creation of a regulatory sandbox that will allow firms to test and experiment ideas and solutions. Prassana also stated that state beggary laws need to be improved.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s Cauvery water verdict, Nilekani said that citizens need to think about intracity equity. “The verdict should not make the citizens of Karnataka more profligate in their attitude,” she said. “Integrated water management plans and amending the law for possibly rejuvenating the city’s lakes should be discussed.” Nilekani cited the example of Europe where new guidelines and standards are being developed on equitable sharing of water.

Ravindra talked about the most pressing problems facing the state and the country. “The solutions to most problems are already known. But there is a problem in implementation,” said the former IAS officer. “Why is this happening? Corruption. Lack of political will and mismanagement are reasons that come to mind.”

Hegde said that as Lokayukta, he concluded that societal mindset will trump any law to solve the problems of corruption in the country. Ravindra agreed, stating, "We must instill respect for rule of law for a law-compliant society and that can't happen until we implement law strictly."

On the issue of delayed justice, former Additional Solicitor General of India Hegde said that many in the legal community are benefitting as it is in their interest to engage in frivolous litigation. “Courts should heavily fine people who try to waste the court’s time,” the 77-year-old said.

Hegde also addressed India’s appeals process. “Why do we have so many levels of appeal? In the US, there is a single trial court, followed by the first appellate court for an appeal. We should try to adopt best practices from the world,” he said.
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(Published 16 February 2018, 18:59 IST)

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