DNA Edit: law’s lament

Chances are that you, like millions of others Indians, have a case pending before one (or possibly many) of the numerous courts that inform the Indian legal system. And just like these millions, your heart also skips a beat every time your lawyer gives you a call.

Fear and paranoia swarm your heart as you wonder about what new astronomical cost you will have to bear before you receive your share of justice. Evidently, the Supreme Court is well informed of this problem afflicting the endless stream of litigants in India.

An SC bench comprising of Justices Adarsh K Goel and U U Lalit has asked the Centre to draft a law which envisages a regulatory mechanism prescribing a fee ceiling for the services being provided by lawyers. This law, as per the observations of the bench, must lay out certain “irreducible minimum standards” which will be followed by the members of the profession and will help uphold uncompromisable standards of accountability. The observations of the apex court are most opportune.

Scores of litigants are being taken for a ride by a small, unethical section of the lawyers’ community who employ a number of dilatory tactics to keep a dispute alive and extract a premium from their clients. Repeated adjournments, misinforming the client or exploiting their legal ignorance are stratagems that these fly-by-night advocates use to unnaturally prolong cases that could otherwise be disposed off expeditiously.

Additionally, it smears the honour with which the legal professional was once beheld, while repelling many a needy people from approaching the corridors of justice. In its 266th report, the Law Commission said that strikes by advocate have led to a massive loss of working days of the court. However, the government has not moved an inch on this matter.