Government Lawyers Not Selected On Merit, Says Law Panel Chief

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Government Lawyers Not Selected On Merit, Says Law Panel Chief
Government Lawyers Not Selected On Merit, Says Law Panel Chief

Law commission chairman Justice B S Chauhan has stated that the appointment of “unsuitable and incompetent lawyers”  by governments for defending their cases was one of the reasons for the enormous pendency in courts as most cases include the state as a party.

According to the judge, government counsels are appointed not on merit but “for extraneous considerations”. He added that unwarranted adjournments were making the pendency situation much worse.

He further noted that the short tenure of judges in High Courts was also a reason for the pendency. He pointed out that often judges are elevated after their retirement, and so get barely a year to serve.

Justice Chauhan has earlier served on the Supreme Court and is also the former chief justice of Orissa high court.

Elevate District Judges Early In Their Careers

Speaking of possible solutions to the issue, Justice Chauhan stated that district judges should be elevated to the HCs earlier in their career and should be given at least five years to serve on the bench.

He said that the large scale pendency had  created “an alarming situation”

There are currently over 3.15 crore cases pending, which includes those before the 24 high courts as well as those before the Supreme Court. Case pendency in the nearly 17,000 subordinate courts is around 2.54 crore, with nearly 10% of these having been pending for over 10 years.

According to Justice Chauhan vacancies in the judiciary was another important factor for the pendency, as close to one quarter of the total sanctioned strength of the judiciary remains vacant at all times.

He emphasised the need for elevating more judges to HCs. In Justice Chauhan’s opinion there have been several cases of undeserving candidates getting elevated .  Further those who are elevated receive a very short tenure of less than a year which reduces efficiency of the courts and cutting pendency.

Another reason was lawyers striking despite SC directives barring it, which has resulted in district courts working for less than 50 percent of their mandated total working days.

Poor Legal Education Worsening The Situation

The law commission chairman further highlighted that the deterioration in current standards of legal education due to “substandard law institutions” was adding to the problem. He pointed out that the enrolment of hundreds of lawyers had been cancelled recently due to lack of a valid degree.

Many of them were having “law degrees from ghost universities/colleges”, noted Justice Chauhan. He also referred to a recent case where a person was found to have served 21 years in judiciary without possessing a law degree.

Justice Chauhan stated that both the government and the judiciary must work together towards improving the quality of legal education since poor professional training can lead to leading to widespread inefficiencies in the judiciary system. This was particularly applicable in the field of constitutional litigation, he said.

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