The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : People's trust in lawyers, courts fast eroding, laments Supreme Court Judge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 24, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

People's trust in lawyers, courts fast eroding, laments Supreme Court Judge

Special Correspondent

Says they are taking the help of musclemen to resolve issues

WARNING SIGNAL: R.V. Raveendran, Supreme Court Judge, delivering a lecture at the Madras High Court in Chennai on Friday. — Photo: S. Thanthoni

CHENNAI: People's trust in lawyers and courts is fast eroding and unless speedy justice and satisfactory remedies are ensured more litigants will turn to unlawful means to settle disputes, said Justice R.V. Raveendran, Judge, Supreme Court.

Delivering the IX endowment lecture -- Role and Responsibilities of Lawyers in Dispensation of Justice -- organised by the S. Viswanathan and B.R. Dolia Lecture Endowment Trust here on Friday, Mr. Justice Raveendran said distrust of the legal fraternity was frequently expressed through the media and people were dissatisfied with the functioning of the justice dispensation system.

He said people had started approaching musclemen and unlawful establishments to resolve issues such as tenant eviction, money recovery, etc., instead of approaching police, lawyers and courts. Citing statistics, he said there was an unhealthy trend showing a fall in the number of civil cases being filed.

He said rendering speedy justice with satisfactory remedy, raising the ethical standards of the Bar and enhancing the performance level of advocates would stop erosion of trust.

Mr. Justice Raveendran, however, said while the Executive actions gave plenty of room for litigation, the Legislature was guilty of enacting incompetent laws. The Judiciary was complacent and lethargic, while lawyers were turning the noble profession into a commercial venture, he said. "Everybody is responsible," he said.

The judge said lawyers should never suppress or distort truth and effort must be made to arrive at a negotiated settlement of disputes. Lawyers must educate the litigants about the advantages of negotiated settlement.

Falling standards

In his special address, Chief Justice A.P. Shah said there were complaints that the standards of the Bar and the Bench had gone down considerably. "Standards in most law colleges now are appalling," he said.

While the Madras Bar Association president T.V. Ramanujam said the associations would take note of the complaints, senior counsel and a trustee M. Ravindran said Mr. Justice Raveendran was a driving force behind the legal aid and literacy movement in Karnataka.

A.L. Somayaji, former Additional Advocate-General and a trustee, said the series of lectures was being organised in honour of "men of achievements."

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