how to reduce cost of litigation.

To,                               January 21st 2013

Honorable Chief Justice of India,

Supreme Court of India, New Delhi.

Minister of law and Justice, Govt of India,

4th floor, Shastri Bhawan, new Delhi.

Honorable the Chief Justice,

Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh.

SUB; Improving fiscal health of Judiciary for better infrastructure.

Sir,

1.     It is a general perception in public that litigation is very expensive and out of reach of common man. When people talk of high Cost of litigation, they do not talk about Rs 500/- or Rs 1000/- on court fees. They talk of cost of “face Value”. The public perception is that Judges decide cases on the basis of “Face Value” i.e. in favor of those advocates who have either links, connections, kith and kin of judges or designated senior advocates. In last 20 years, “Face Value” has come to be accepted criteria of decision. Value of 'Facts' and ‘Acts’ have been lost somewhere along the way. If one wants case to be decided in his favor then one to engage ‘senior’ advocate or ‘Kith and Kin’ and thus cost of litigation shoots up.

2.     Cost of litigation can be reduced to some extent by enhancing the cost of “face value”. Several advocates make applications and beseech their known and friendly judges to designate them as ‘Senior Advocates’. Why? If they are already senior in their own fields they do not need such a designation. The designation is required to give them “face Value” and thus enhance their personal fees. Clients hire Sr. Advocates for their “face value” and such clients would not mind paying part of such “face value” to H’ High Court by way of special court fee for engaging ‘senior’ advocates. The fee can be given any name, like infrastructure court fee or special court fee etc. It may vary from Rs 50,000/- to Rs 1,00,000/- wherever designated senior advocates appear. DRTs are already charging Rs 1,00,000/- as court fee with no complaints.

3.     This special court fee for ‘senior’ advocates will not affect 99% of the advocates nor rich clients. The additional fee so collected can be useful for improving infrastructure. However many clients will start engaging other 99% of advocates thereby reducing cost of litigation for general public.

4.     The next type of advocates having “face value” are ‘Kith and Kin’ of Judges. All cases wherever Kith and Kin are engaged be listed before Hon’ble the Chief Justice or outstation Judges. If such an executive order is issued, “face Value” of kith and kin will evaporate sooner than expected, roster will be normal within one month and cost of litigation will come down drastically.

5.     During British times there was no designation as Sr. Advocates. It is now a scandal. There should be relaxations in norms for kith and kin like those for SC/BC. Kith and kin be designated as Senior Advocates the moment they get a license to practice/ (or at time they are born) or the moment their relatives is employed as a Judge. (Pun intended).

Suggestions to improve fiscal health / infrastructure:-

A.     There should be court fee wherever senior advocates are engaged for both respondent and petitioner.

B.     Cases wherever “Kith and Kin” are engaged be listed only before Hon’ble the Chief Justice or outstation Judges.

C.     Criteria for designation as Senior advocates be relaxed for kith and kin of Judges like relaxation given to backward people. Kith and Kin of Judges be automatically designated as ‘Senior’ the moment they become lawyers / their relatives becomes judge.

D.     Remove such designations from statute books. All lawyers are equal before law.

KD Aggarwal

Advocate.

Together, we can and with WILL make the system more just and prosperous.

Change has a considerable psychological impact. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. King Whitney Jr.