Former Union Law Minister and senior advocate Salman Khurshid on Saturday disapproved of the practice of lawyers in the country choosing to argue cases for weeks and months together. He said, neither the lawyers should follow such a practice nor the judges should allow them to argue matters for long.
In an interactive session conducted in Chennai by Rotary Club of Madras as part of its 90th year Lecture Series, he pointed out that lawyers in the United States do not get to argue for more than an hour even in the most difficult of cases, but in India, it was very common for lawyers to argue their cases for weeks together.
“This is something that must change in India,” he told the gathering. Taking another question from the audience, he expressed his disappointment over the performance of lawyers in politics. Politics in the country would have been far better if the lawyers had contributed their best to the field, he said.
In an oblique reference to the pandemonium often prevails in the Parliament, he said, lawyers who enter politics should not quickly forget the decorum and etiquette they learn at the Bar. On quick delivery of justice, he was of the view that the country had the capacity and capability to delivering speedy justice but they were not being put to good use.
For instance, the Delhi High Court had about six paperless court halls but they were being used only for secretarial purposes. “We need judges who are equipped to handle electronic files,” he stressed. Mr. Khurshid also answered a question on a recent order passed by the Madras High Court insisting upon dedicated lanes for VIPs in toll plazas.
He agreed that the common man had grievances regarding privileges enjoyed by Ministers and judges but at the same breath, he stressed upon the necessity to consider the importance of time for people holding high offices. “Because there are two sides to it, you’ll need a good judge to give a decision on this,” he quipped.
Expressing concern over misreporting of judgments and court proceedings in the media and empathising with the judges whose verdicts get distorted, he said that professionals could be employed as Public Relations Officers in the Supreme Court as well as High Courts to provide the right information to the press.