“LAWYERS MAY BE HAVING A BOWL IN THEIR HANDS, BUT THEY ARE NOT BEGGING” -- JUSTICE DEEPAK VERMA By Sonam Saigal 31 October 2013 Justice Deepak Verma served as the Administrative Judge of Indore in 2005 and continued as one, even at the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. He was then transferred as a Judge to the Karnataka High Court in 2008. Before being elevated as the Supreme Court Judge in 2009, he has served as the chief justice of Rajasthan High Court. In a speech at the Rajasthan State Judicial Academy, Justice Verma had said, “The task of dispensation of justice is not only tough but onerous also. Unless you have great degree of commitment to the same, you are not likely to get the divine pleasure of doing justice. Get yourself engrossed in it and treat it as your ‘Dharma’ and then work as ‘Karma Yogi.’ In an exclusive and free-wheeling interview to LegalEra, Justice Deepak Verma talks about the reason for the increase in the number of pending cases and how to deal with it. He also displays a sense of optimism towards the judiciary in the next decade. Q: You were the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court? What changes did you bring there? A: Before I could do much at the Rajasthan High Court, I was elevated to the Supreme Court. I wanted to train the judges of the subordinate judiciary. It is essential to train them in procedural law and inform them that the technicality should be given a go by. Matters should be disposed on merit. Interestingly, the newly appointed civil judges were undergoing training on the same day I had taken an oath as the chief justice. So I was asked to address them and I told them, ‘You may be new but I am the latest.’ Q: You mentioned training the judges. How can you train them? Can you please elaborate on that? A: I have always informed the judges, that we are paid for hearing and the lawyers are paid for arguing. Judges should not ask too many questions to them. They should be trained on how to conduct legal proceedings, legal etiquettes, court manners and also how they should behave with the lawyers and litigants. I have always insisted lawyers should be treated well, they may be having a bowl in their hands but they are not begging, they only plead for justice to be granted. Q: You were additionally appointed as the Welfare Commissioner for Bhopal Gas Victims to disburse compensation. The victims are not satisfied with it. Please comment. A: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy brought in an additional responsibility to me. I used to rush to Bhopal on weekends and holidays. The compensation disbursed to the victims was as per the guidelines and as you know the funds were limited. It was not possible to satisfy 4,35,000 victims. Q: You had directed the central government to distribute surplus goods at subsidized rates to the hungry populace. What are your views on the Food Security Bill? A: The Bill may be a good idea but at the end of the day it is going to increase problems for the poor. The villagers and the laborers will get everything free. Thus there will not be any incentive for them to work and earn a living. It is going to cause labour problems in the construction activity and agricultural work. Q: Do you think the collegiums system of appointment is a successful model? A:Initially it might have worked very well. But of late it’s not working properly. The Judicial Accountability Commission should be given a chance to take charge of picking up the judges. Let’s see if it improves. Q: What do you have to say about the corruption in the judiciary? A: Judiciary is much cleaner than the other wings. Everywhere there are black sheeps. If a civil judge is staying in a rented house and a sub-engineer from PWD (public works department) lives right next to him and has more money, so he gets lured by it. But that should not be the reason to be corrupt. Q: There is 30 percent vacancy of judges in our country. How do you think we can fill this gap? A: All Chief Justices (CJ) make an attempt to fill the vacancies, but the procedures are so lengthy that it takes a lot of time. The CJs cannot be blamed, they make all the efforts by sending a list of prospective candidates to the government but it gets stuck there, because the file has to pass so many tables and so many layers of scrutiny. Q: Who is to be blamed for the increase in the number of pending cases? A: Judges and lawyers both are to be equally blamed. The subordinate judiciary needs to be swift. They should work in shifts, we should have a morning shift and an evening shift. The same set of lawyers can’t appear in court the whole day, so let the junior advocates come in the second shift, that’s how they will also get to learn and earn. Secondly, 60 to 70 percent cases are either by or against the government. The government should decide which cases should go to court and which cases can be settled out of court. If a notice under Section 80 of the civil procedure court is served then a befitting case relief should be granted by the government. The executive should take a stand and that to a positive one. Only the genuine cases should reach the court. Q: Do you think we need more fast track courts to help reduce the pendency? A: We already have so many fast track courts, the magistrates and the additional civil judges are over-burdened. We need to appoint judges who are physically fit in the fast track courts. In Madhya Pradesh some of the judges appointed in the fast track courts were physically unfit and also visually handicapped and needed help to even reach the court. So in my opinion in the fast track courts, committed, honest and hard-working judges should be appointed. Once all this is taken care of, there is no reason why the pendency would not reduce. Q: What do you think about the legal education in our country? A: The five year integrated course is doing wonders. Students who are pass outs from the five year course are perfect advocates. Judges take no time to recognize their caliber and talent. But unfortunately, not many students are willing to take up litigation in court and instead join the multinational companies. Q: Do you want to tell anything to such students? A: The courts may be crowded but not over crowded. There is always room at the top. One can climb the ladder and reach the top. The judicial scenario in our country is likely to change for the better after 10 to 15 years. Comforting words by Justice Deepak Verma for the common man In 2011, at an inaugural address at the National Tax Conference held at Jodhpur, Justice Verma had opined, “the legal practitioners throughout the country should request the Union of India to draft the laws in a simpler form which could be understood by everyone. After all, the purpose of having an enactment is to keep a citizen bound by the same. If a common man is not able to comprehend the complexities of such law and if that particular statute is likely to be interpreted in several ways, then it will add up confusion and will affect the common man.”
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 02:11:53 +0000
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