Why in News?

Delhi High Court has in the matter of Naresh Sharma v. Union of India & Ors. Said that it will go a long way in ensuring speedy and effective justice system and called for judicial reforms to deal with frivolous litigations.

Background

• In India the judicial system is burdened with case load leading to significant backlog of cases.
• The Delhi High Court has said that the Bar Council of India (BCI) must frame guidelines for establishing an ethical code for self-represented litigants.
• Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the observations while dismissing three petitions moved by Naresh Sharma, an alumnus of IIT, alleging that his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India was being infringed.
• It was argued that Article 21 includes "right to have public organizations that are not criminally established”.

Court’s Observations

• Observing that while the self-represented litigants may lack legal training, the court said that they are still expected to fulfil certain duties to ensure a fair and efficient judicial process.
• The Court further said “This embargo of absence of ethical conduct needs to be addressed by the Bar Council of India, and some guidelines for establishment of ethical code for self-represented litigants need to be framed. This ethical grounding will play a crucial role in minimizing the flow of frivolous litigation, and thus reduce the burden of Courts”.

Legal Provisions

Frivolous Litigation - It is the use of legal processes with apparent disregard for the merit of one's own arguments. It includes presenting an argument with reason to know that it would certainly fail or acting without a basic level of diligence in researching the relevant law and facts.

Causes for Delay

• The huge backlog in the courts has been a subject of a number of reports and debates in parliament and state legislatures.
• The primary reason pertains to the fact that the institution of cases in the courts far exceeds their disposal.
• There is a considerable increase in the disposal of cases in various courts, the institution of cases has increased more rapidly.
• The existing strength of judges being inadequate, even to dispose of the actual institution, the backlog cannot be wiped out without additional strength, particularly, when the institution of cases is likely to increase and not come down in the coming years.
• Another reason behind the sad state of affairs is that the number of Judges is highly disproportionate to the population.
• The judge to population ratio (judge per million population) with respect to sanctioned strength of judges is 21 as on December 31, 2021. The sanctioned strength of the Apex Court is 34 while it is 1098 for the 25 High Courts.
• Another reason which amounts to delay is no fixed period for disposal: There is no time limit fixed either by any Act or Code within which the cases must be decided.
• The reason for which cases drag on for years together may be summed up as follows:
• Role of Judges:
  • Lack of control over case files and court proceedings.
  • The tendency of some judges to grant adjournments in a liberal manner.
  • Sometimes it may happen that judges come to courts without reading case files which further makes lawyers argue at length explaining the facts of the case and legal point (s) involved therein.
• Role of Lawyers:
  • Lawyers are not precise sometimes regarding the case details.
  • Lawyers are known to take adjournments on frivolous grounds, the reason may range from death of a party or a relative or any other alike reason.
  • It often happens that lawyers are busy in another court as they have to handle multiple court proceedings during the day.
  • It may sometimes happen that lawyers do not prepare their cases. A better preparation of the brief is bound to increase the efficiency of the system.
  • It is seen that lawyers often resort to strikes.

Bar Council of India

• Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body established under the Section 4 of the Advocates Act, 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India.
• It prescribes standards of professional conduct, etiquette and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar.
• Section 7 of the Advocates Act, 1961 lays down the Bar Council's regulatory and representative mandate as follows:
  • Lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
  • Lay down procedure to be followed by disciplinary committees.
  • Safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.
  • Promote and support law reform.
  • Deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred to by a State Bar Council.
  • Promote legal education and lay down standards of legal education.
  • Determine universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrollment as an advocate.
  • Conduct seminars on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest.
  • Organize and provide legal aid to the poor.
  • Recognize foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for admission as an advocate.
  • Provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Council.