Certainty of punishment is the real deterrent

To read an article in the Indian Express dated 27.08.2013 by G. P. Joshi arguing that the CERTAINTY of punishment, not its SEVERITY is the real deterrent, click on the following link:
http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/1547393

RS passes bill to make divorce women-friendly

To read about the amendments in Marriage laws in an article in the Indian Express dated 27.08.2013, click on the following link:
http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/1547367

Pendency of cases in Courts: Nearly 4L cases pending, shows RTI

Nearly 4L cases pending, shows RTI: Experts Blame Lack of Infra, Inefficient Use Of Resources
Article by Rebecca Samervel in The Times of India dated 19th August 2013

Mumbai: The problem of pending cases continues to plague the legal system year after year. As on July 31, 2013, 3.72 lakh cases are pending in magistrate courts across the city, revealed a Right to Information (RTI) query. Though the figure is marginally better than that of six months ago—3.82 lakh pending cases as on December 31, 2012—it is still a concern.
    Of the 3.72 lakh cases, 8,464 have been pending for more than 20 years and 51,074 for more than a decade. Nearly 67,721 cases have been pending for more than five years.
    Experts feel that the pendency problem is compounded by lack of infrastructure and inefficient use of resources.
    Lawyer-activist Y P Singh pointed out that when a case can culminate in 10 dates on an average, it still stretches to over 100 dates. “This results in infructuous hearings and dates with prolonged gaps. A lot of the court’s time is wasted,” Singh said, adding that in many instances the main culprit is the non-cooperation by the police and prosecution. “There could be a nexus with the accused. Hence, they indulge in non-service of summons and non-execution of warrants.”
    Singh cited his own case filed in a magistrate’s court reagarding the alleged forced delay in the hit-and-run case in which actor Salman Khan is an accused. “Irrelevant witnesses and absence of parties heap on, leading to a non-consequential hearing. This is eating away a major chunk of court time. There are instances when the court is forced to retire early in the day owing to this,” he said.
    The RTI filed by activist Chetan Kothari also revealed that status quo has been maintained with respect to the number of courts in the last two years. As on July 31, 2013, there are 75 courts, but the the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court is vacant with 3,152 cases pending. “This is very important position and an appointment needs to be made at the earliest. The prolonged absence will also lead to administrative issues,” said an advocate.
    Suggesting solutions to reduce pendency, criminal lawyer Majeed Memon said that magistrates must encourage outof-court settlements or compromise applications wherever possible. “With respect to private complaints, magistrates must avoid frivolous litigations and dismiss them at the earliest,” he said. “In several cases, adjournments are granted easily to both to the prosecution and defence. This needs to be curbed.”
    “Though there are 75 courts on record in Mumbai, they all need to work to their full potential. We also need several more courts to cope with the existing backlog and future litigation,” a legal activist said.

 

Skill gap in the legal profession

Aid the legal eagles

Being good at proving your point or having a good convincing power is not the only quality required to become a lawyer. Experts tell Gauri Rane about the skill gap in the profession

Gauri Rane Source: DNA dated 7th August 2013

Most of us would remember Anil Kapoor as defense lawyer Arun Verma who consumes evidence to prove his client not guilty in the movie Meri Jung. This scene may not ring a bell, but the confidence and hunger to win, which Verma displays will forever be etched in memory.   A doctor’s son becomes a doctor; a lawyer’s a lawyer, this old saying continues to hold true even today. However there are many who do not have a lineage in the profession but nevertheless a desire to don the black cloak. The legal profession has seen a tremendous increase in the number of aspirants over the years. Senior Advocate at Bombay High Court, Shirish Gupte says that there is almost 75 per cent increase in the number of fresh graduates stepping into the legal arena every year. “We didn’t have much of a choice during our time. One could either become a doctor or a lawyer. Today, students make informed decisions to enter the profession,” he reminisces.  However, this increase in numbers is not necessarily a shine on the profession. Experts in the industry are unanimous when they say that graduates coming from various law schools in the country do not have the required skill set. There is a huge skill gap they say. “There is a huge disconnect between what students learn in a law school and the real world,” says Somasekhar Sundaresan, head Securities Law, J Sagar Associates. He lists the various gaps in the teaching methodology. “The course curriculum is not fact oriented. Students do not have practical knowledge, the application of facts which only practice can teach is missing.”    Sundaresan adds another reason for lack of quality in fresh graduates. “Students do not have access to lawyers who practice and hence do not understand the application of theory to real time,” he explains. Cyber expert Vijay Mukhi agrees with Sundaresan. “Our best lawyers do not spend enough time with law students, leaving the aspirants raw and with little knowledge about how to deal with litigation/ non litigation matters.” The reasons are not far to seek.  Law as career is lucrative only if one stands in the courtroom but, the remunerations are very low when it comes to academics. “If our teachers were compensated well, then this would not be the case. While our bright minds earn big bucks for a day’s appearance in the court, they get close to nothing for giving a lecture at a law school,” says Mukhi. Sundaresan has another point to make. He says, “Corporate firms offer a good pay package attracting quality lawyers. There are few who love the profession and want to mentor newcomers.”   While industry experts continue to debate on the visible skill gap, Sundaresan offers advice. “There needs to be a continuous industry academia exchange. Law schools need to stress on practical orientation of the course,” he says. Aspirants need to take up intensive internships in order to understand if he/ she is made for litigation/ non litigation career. Gupte explains, “For a career in litigation one needs to be a good orator, have command over language and most importantly be able to put his/ her point of view convincingly. Whereas for those pursuing non-litigation, a research oriented approach is important.” Law is not an easy profession; one must be up to date with not just the laws, amendments and various acts, but also keep a close eye on judgments that are passed. This means prospective lawyers need to be able to do continuous research and should have a good grasping power. Success solely depends on how many cases one has won. With a proper balance of theory, practical experience and continuous industry academia interactions the law aspirants might as well have a strong case.  gaurirane.zee@gmail.com

Taking legal studies online

For the love of Law

Gauri Rane, DNA dated Aug 07, 2013

Industry and academia may someday come at consensus on the curriculum and teaching methodology, but is one going to wait for that day? Considering students have an easy access to online medium of learning, it is obvious to cater to their needs through an online medium. As the programs offered address the learning and skills void, students and faculty alike are extremely receptive about taking a law course online. Such courses are gaining popularity as they can be taken anywhere, anytime and by anybody. The online module does not provide a law degree but provides students with knowledge and skills with respect to a particular subject.  Our students range from media professionals to CEOs, COOs, CFOs of large corporations and serving and retired IAS officers. They don’t have the time or inclination to go for a full time law degree and instead find the online programs a convenient and cost effective way of continuing their learning. A large percentage of our ‘students’ are non-lawyers who simply want to acquire expertise on a particular subject.  For e.g.: investment bankers are keen on taking our program on Mergers & Acquisition laws that can provide them with a strong foundation of the legal framework governing M&A transactions. Having said this, I do not believe that online learning will replace classroom learning. On the contrary, online learning will supplement and enhance the classroom learning experience.  — As told to Gauri Rane by Alex Anthony, Founder, www.mylaw.net

SC to examine juvenile age issue

NIRBHAYA GANGRAPE

SC to examine juvenile age issue

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN 

Source: The Times of AIndia dated August 1, 2013

New Delhi: Less than a fortnight after rejecting pleas for lowering the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years in heinous crimes, the Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL arguing 
that a juvenile offender’s culpability should be determined on the basis of his or her mental maturity rather than physical age. 
    Additional solicitor general Siddharth Luthra opposed the PIL and informed abench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjana P Desai and Ranjan Gogoi that on July 17, the apex court had decided a bunch of petitions rejecting pleas to lower the age of juveniles to 16 years. 
    The SC’s July 17 judgment in the Salil Bali case had noted that there was no data to support public perception, formed after the gruesome Nirbhaya gang rape, on spurt in heinous crimes involving juveniles. When Luthra repeatedly cited the Salil Bali judgment to oppose fresh judicial adjudication on the age of juveniles, the bench said, “Why not we examine it, it is such a grave matter?” 
    After deciding to take up Subramanian Swamy’s petition seeking court trial of the 17-year-old juvenile accused in the Nirbhaya gangrape case, the bench headed by Justice Sathasivam asked him to inform the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) not to pronounce judgment during pendency of the PIL in SC. 
    On the issue of determining the culpability of juveniles, the ministry of women and child development has filed an affidavit objecting to lowering of age of juveniles from 18 years as prescribed under the statute. 
    Opposing Swamy’s petition, the ministry said, “A child below the age of 18 years is denied most of his legal rights and the petitioner does not appreciate that change with respect to imposing liability on a person below 18 years has no legal or constitutional basis.”