‘Young lawyers should learn drafting skills’

Nagpur: Drafting bail application is a skill junior lawyers should learn as loose ends could make a lot of difference to the fate of clients, said counsel Firdoz Mirza, on Wednesday.
Addressing a seminar organized by High Court Bar Association (HCBA) at the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, Mirza said his experience showed junior lawyers generally struggle to draft a perfect bail application, to be put up before a court, as they tend to skip important aspects of the case.

Mirza gave a power-point presentation on how to draft a bail application. He advised young lawyers to study the approach of applicants towards society, past criminal record and ascertain their credentials with the help of Aadhaar card before drafting an anticipatory bail petition.

Lawyers should get from clients a copy of the first information report (FIR) as it contains details of the crime. Bail application should be based on the FIR and other aspects too, he said. “In many cases, clients are in a hurry to seek bail and try to bully junior lawyers. But they should not buckle under pressure.

“A client may be innocent, but one single mistake made by a lawyer in the bail application could prove him guilty. Therefore, such applications should be drafted with utmost care.”

Besides listening to the clients’ version, the lawyers should also look at the scenario and study every angle of the case. Putting details of the case in a chronological order is important. Young lawyers should have the knowledge of various acts, rules and government resolutions, Mirza said.

Mirza suggested to the young lawyers to seek help from an expert while drafting a bail application and follow his guidance.

(Reporting by Tejas Mundhada)