By Sidharth Shankar Mishra
While there are good lawyers out there, there are some pretty rotten ones as well. Many of you have encountered corrupt lawyers, who sold out your cases to the opposing team, for money quietly paid under the table, in lawsuits you thought were rock solid. Lawyers routinely take bribes under the table, from miscreants, in order to avoid going to court, where the full truth and extent of the misconduct committed against you will come out.
Why because of few lawyers , all lawyers are blamed… they do the cheap, unethical practice and we suffer. I can’t visit a police station and sit with the thanedar to collect cases and do certain undertable business. Now such lawyers are the takedars of our highly so called samaj . It is very strange that the society accepts them also. People are having so much money that they are now bribing judges. When money comes in abundance, then people don’t know what to do with the money. They try to subvert the entire system and judicial process. Anyone who plays with the court system must be dealt with heavily. This virus has to be eliminated. Majority of the judges and almost all the lawyers in India are corrupt and a bench of SC is giving sermons to others to not to bribe the judges. One does not have to be an investigator to see the effect of large scale bribing in all the courts. The easy grant of bails to hard core criminals, inordinate delays in adjudication of the cases of corrupt politicians. Don’t bribe us, but do invite us to lavish parties and gift our children or grand children expensive gifts and then we do stay your cases. Just enter the court after paying the advocate, He will guide you how much and to whom pay cash otherwise face the music,what are you talking of judiciary untouched it is full of corruption,just enter once and you have it.Thats why they say Do not put a foot on the steps of a court. Andha Kanoorn hai. Sorry I am bit philosophical but I’ve to speak my mind.
The people to the judiciary is to be selected through UPSC like Indian judiciary service. We should have a system like civil services direct IAS and conferred IAS. At no point, the political party in power should have a choice to recommend the candidates. This will ensure only people with some competence level will become judges. The collegium system may be adopted for selection to higher judiciary. I am afraid of a generation of lawyers even to clear a formal exam before enrolling in to the Bar. In no other service employment is given merely based on passing university exams.
Every 5 years judges to be tested for updating their knowledge by the higher judicial officers. This will ensure continuous upgrading of knowledge. Some Training colleges throughout India for lower level judges and an Apex Training College for training HC/SC Judges may be set up . This will ensure the ladder of promotion to Higher courts will be uniform for all.
In China when you kill someone even if you’re a police officer you can be sentenced to death. India needs change, our courts stopped serving justice decades ago when dishonest lawyers took over. Dishonest, unethical, greedy lawyers who became judges who have no business being on a bench. Justice begins in our courts and when Police officers commit crimes and are not held personally accountable and punished people lose respect for law. Police and judges depend on each other thus they’re biased and lack the ability to make objective decisions when ruling over crimes by police. The same problem exists when judges commit crimes, police fail to investigate or uphold the law against a judge. Often victims are abused and terrorized to stop them from reporting dishonest police or judges in India.
One of the sad truths about our justice system is that courtroom corruption often is a multi-headed monster. In many cases, it is not a matter of a crooked judge or a crooked lawyer, operating in isolation. Much courtroom sleaze turns on collaborations between crooked judges and lawyers, joining greasy hands to ensure that one party or another is denied justice. In the background, you often will find a corporate defendant, whose officers know the system is being compromised on their behalf.
Most people think that professional conduct and professional ethics are one and the same. However, there is a slight difference between the two. In professional conduct the member of the profession acts under some statutory or contractual powers .i.e. legal obligation, whereas in professional ethics a member of profession is expected to follow i.e. moral obligation. Professional ethics is noble and those who remain within it are considered divine.
“I feel the rules governing ethics of lawyers should never have had to be codified but there are black sheep in every profession,” said Justice P.B. Majmudar.Although codes, policies, and laws of conduct are very essential and constructive, like any set of rules, they do not cover each and every possible incident that may arise, and in some cases they often conflict. They also require substantial amount of interpretation. Most of the decisions that a professional must make in respect of conduct involve the straightforward application of ethical rules.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, nay it is the fear of losing power. The fear syndrome has struck. It is time to write obit of the Rule of Law and Judicial Review – the signature tune of the Constitution. Also time to bury them in archives of history or, let us say, preserve them for academics or intellectual exercises.
Indian Judicial system seems in way to collapse.
Be it the justice delivery system existent in criminal side or civil side, there is no hope for justice for common man. Entire fabric has been exploited and doomed. The condition of Indian judicial system worsened so much that Attorney General of India, Mr. Soli Sorabjee remarked, “Criminal Justice system in India is on the verge of collapse owing to inordinate delay in getting judicial verdict and many a potential litigant seem to take recourse to a parallel mafia dominated system of ‘justice’ that has sprung up in metros like Mumbai, Delhi etc”. Hamlet’s lament about the laws delays still haunts us in India and the horrendous arrears of cases in courts is a disgraceful blot on our legal system, especially the criminal justice delivery system.
The various recent scams like the CWG scam, 2G scam, Adarsh Society scam, including rapes and other atrocities in the society etc. have emphasised both the conduct of politicians and public dignitaries, including the common man, and also on the drawbacks in the functioning of Indian judiciary. There is no system of accountability. The media also do not give a clear picture on account of the fear of contempt. There is no provision for registering an FIR against a judge taking bribes without taking the permission of the Chief Justice of India. Another problem facing the Indian judicial system is the lack of transparency. It is seen that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is totally out of the ambit of the legal system. Thus, in the functioning of the judiciary, the substantial issues like the quality of justice and accountability are not known properly.
It is very essential that the judiciary of any country should be an integral part of the society and its interactions with the society must be made regular and relevant. It is also seen that there is involvement of common citizens in judicial decision-making in several countries. However, in India, the Indian judicial system has no connection with the society, something which it had inherited from the British judicial set-up. But, things should have changed over the last years. Even today, the law officers have not been able to come closer to the ground to meet the common people.
Justice Katju’s revelations about some High Court judges and how they were dealt with by the then CJI leaves the impression that errant judges are transferred instead of being publicly reported on clearly shows the need for public input into the appointment process. Since the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition represent the country’s elected leadership, it is important they have an influence in the appointment process.
This is taking democracy to it most illogical extremes. Are all the parliamentarians aware of the repercussions of this flawed system of selecting the judges to the supreme court etc. Are the willing to individually take a questionaire formulated by eminent lawyers like Mr Nariman, Mr Prashant Bhushan like in an exam so that we know to what extent they understood the pros and cons before voting or did they simply voted based on political parties dictat and also at the end of their answers they should summarise why they are for it and against the collegiums system. Though then Mr Kapil Sibal had said he would take the matter to supreme court but doubt his stance. I remember he was seriously articulating in parliament when congress was in power as to why the MP’s and MLA’s should not be debarred from contesting unless they had exhausted all their legal rights right upto supreme court and Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mr Jaitley though being in opposition were nodding their heads in affirmative.
For decades these Learned Judges had unfettered powers to appoint whosoever suited their whims as Judges. Definitely they made a mess of the Judicial system. One of the Judges of the Indian Court said “Truth is not a defence”. Do you think they are really learned? The next correct step will be to introduce regional languages officially in the High Courts. And also Let the supreme court operate from atleast Five places in India. Let the litigation stop at the doors of High Courts and the Supreme Court shall deal only with interstate disputes and constitutional cases.
There is urgently need to improve the basic infrastructure and management of resources. Modern technology and use of computers could also increase the efficiency of the court system. The judiciary has also to learn management techniques through training at all levels. Though, the Supreme Court and High Courts are having good infrastructure but this in not the same position with lower courts. The lower courts are the basic institution of justice and to improve the quality of the justice dispensed with, it is necessary to improve their infrastructure by modern technology. Lack of funds should not be allowed to enter in the way of development of infrastructure, as external security is necessary, internal maintenance of law and order is also necessary for the internal security, national interest, peace and progress. In general budget certain handsome amount could also be allocated to judiciary like defence and education or a separate judicial budget should be placed, like railway budget. The panel of government lawyer should also be on merits not on the basis of nearness to ministers. As the government is the largest litigant, more transparency is required on their part. Govt. counsel should be selected on the basis of merit, efficiency, integrity, by some transparent manner. There should also be some permanent vigilance provision to observe the working of the public prosecutors. Security system in courts also needs improvement for proper confidence of people and fearless functioning of system. Information-counter should be set up in every court for the convenience of litigating public.
We see that in spite of all the advancements in information and communication technologies changing the life of the people of the country dramatically, the India legal system still looks like a domineering and pretentious British vestige appearing to belong to an elite class away from the people and the country. As a matter of fact, the present system of justice
seems, is out of place and out of time and tune with democratic procedures and norms, that please only a certain section of the society with vested interests. Therefore, there is an immediate need to restructure the entire judicial system to make it answerable to the needs of a democratic, progressive societ