PRACTICAL TRAINING II

NAME: SHUBHAM PATEL

DIV: D
ROLL NO: 202
AY: 2021-22
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Role of PIL in protecting environment 2

Use of Computer in Legal work 12

Importance of Lok Adalat for helping the needy 26

Importance of Legal Service Authorities in providing 35

Legal aid
Law Office management 43

Habeas corpus – out of jail

Mandamus- compel the authority to perform specific

duty

Certiorari- set aside on want of jurisdiction

Prohibition- before declaration of decisoion

Quo warranto- holder of office to show authority under

which he holds office
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ROLE OF PIL IN PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT

Introduction

(USE OF LAW TO PROTECT GENERAL INTEREST OF PEOPLE)

Public interest litigation is the use of the law to advance human rights
and equality, or raise issues of broad public concern. It helps advance
the cause of minority or disadvantaged groups or individuals.

One of the most important procedural innovations for environmental

jurisprudence has been the relaxation of traditional process of standing in the
Court and introducing the concept of Public Interest Litigation (hereafter
PIL). Until the early 1970s, litigation in India was in its rudimentary form
because it was seen as a pursuit for the vindication of private vested
interests. During this period, initiation and continuance of litigation was
prerogative only to the individual aggrieved party. ( locus standi principle)

Remedies available in criminal acts but people were not aware of those
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A complete change in the jurisprudence scenario in the 1970s with efforts

taken by Justice P.N. Bhagwati and Justice V.R. Krishna lyer was marked by
attempts to bring wider issues affecting the general public at large within the
ambit. In the post-emergency period, in 1976 the Indian Supreme Court
declared that "where a wrong against community interest done, the principle
locus standi will not always be a pre-requisite to draw the attention of
judiciary against public body for their failure in discharging constitutional
duties. Since that time the Indian approach to PIL has extended the rules of
standing to the point that they may be said to have ceased to present any real
obstacle to the public interest litigant. Now any citizen of India can file a
petition on behalf of any citizen or group of citizens who themselves are
incapable of approaching the Court.

The ambit and extent of PIL were expanded in 1970s from the initial
prisoner rights concerns, to others like bonded labour, child labour, inmates
of various asylums, ensuring the rights of the poor to education, to shelter
and other essential amenities, sexual harassment of women at working place,
preventing corruption in public offices, environmental protection,
accountability of public servants, and utilization of public funds for
development activities (Bhushan 2004). Since the relaxation of locus standi
principle in 1970s, PIL has been used as one of the major devices,
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especially for the protection of environment and resolving issues revolving

around environmental disputes in India.

This paper analyses the role of PIL in environmental protection in India. In

so doing, it begins with by highlighting the importance of PIL in resolving
environmental litigations. This is followed by the review of selected PILS on
environmental cases of different natures (water pollution, air pollution,
forest degradation), ranging over different periods of time (1980 to 2000),
involving different parties (state, individuals, private party and public) and
from different locations (urban and rural) to explore the judicial approach
toward different types of PIL. Finally, the paper examines the implications
of environmental litigations for environmental jurisprudence in India.

Importance of PIL for Environmental Protection

The Court's approach to entertain PIL for environmental protection is

significant in many ways. First, prior to the emergence of the concept PIL,
Criminal Law provisions as contained in the Indian Penal Code, Civil Law
remedies under the law of Torts and provisions of the Criminal Procedure
Code were existed to provide remedies for public nuisance cases including
air, water and noise pollution. However, due to lack of people's awareness
about the environmental problems and limited knowledge of environmental
laws there were problems in drawing the attention of the Court towards
environmental problems. Again, there was no provision in the environmental
legal framework for allowing the third party to seek the help of the Court if
the party was not directly affected by environmental problems.
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Hence, the biggest hurdle in the path of litigation for environmental justice
had been the traditional concept of locus standi. Earlier when the third party
approached the appellate Court for seeking relief against an injury they did
not incur directly, the action was not maintainable as the appellate Court
focused its attention on the identity of the petitioner rather than the subject
of petition. But now the Court's approach has changed and it has been ruled
that any member of the public having sufficient interest, may be allowed to
initiate the legal process in order to assert diffused and meta-individual
rights. Generally, in environmental litigation, the parties affected by
pollution are a large, diffused and unidentified mass of people. Therefore,
the question arises as to who ought to bring such cases to the Court's notice
where no personal injury, in particular, has been noticed. Second, the natural
environment and inanimate objects cannot represent themselves in the Court
of law. In such situations, the court has emphasized that any member of the
public having sufficient interest may be allowed to initiate the legal
process in order to assert diffused and meta-individual rights in
environmental problems as well as ensure the protection and improvement
of natural environment.

A number of cases on environmental issues have been initiated through PIL.

Beginning with the Dehradun lime stone quarrying case in 1983, followed
by the Ganga Water Pollution case, Delhi Vehicular Pollution case, Oleum
Gas Leak case, Tehri Dam case, Narmada Dam case, Dahanu Thermal
Power Plant case, Bichhri village industrial pollution case, Vellore leather
industry pollution case, Sariska wildlife protection case, and
T.N.Godavarman case, all of them came to Court's attention through PIL.
These cases have been initiated by Non-Governmental Organisations
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(NGOs), and environmental activists on behalf of other individuals and

groups or public at large, to ensure the implementation of Statutory Acts and
Constitutional provisions aimed at the protection of environment and
enforcement of fundamental rights. It has been found from Indian Supreme
Court Case reports that out of 104 environmental cases from 1980-2000 in
the Supreme Court of India, 54 were filed by individuals who were not
directly the affected parties and 28 were filed by NGOs on behalf of the
affected parties. This suggests that the instrument of PIL has provided an
opportunity to the third party to represent on behalf of the affected people
and the environment itself.

Reflections on Leading PILS for Environmental Protection

The Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) v. Union of India

filed in 1983 was the first PIL of its kind in India for the protection of
environment. The petitioner RLEK pleaded for closing down of large
number of leases of lime-stone quarries which were polluting the
environment, causing ecological imbalance and hazard to the health of not
only human being but also of all inanimate and animate things.

On the other hand, the respondents including both the State and lime-stone
quarry units argued that closing down of lime-stone quarries would throw
out the owners out of business in which they have invested large sums of
money and create unemployment for the workers working in these lime-
stone quarries.

The Court ordered for the closing down of certain category of lime-stone
quarries and observed: the consequence of this order made by us would be
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that the lessees of lime-stone quarries which have been directed to be closed
down permanently under this order, would be thrown out of business in
which they have invested large sums of money and expended considerable
time and effort. This would undoubtedly cause hardship to them, but it is a
price that has to be paid for protecting and safeguarding the right of the
people to live in healthy environment with minimal disturbance of
ecological balance and without avoidable hazard of them and to their cattle,
homes and agricultural land and under affectation of air, water and
environment."

In the M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the petitioner M.C Mehta, advocate
of the Supreme Court filed a writ petition in 1985 under Article 32 of the
Constitution to close down Kanpur tanneries which were discharging
effluents beyond the permissible limits into the river Ganga. The Court
asked all the industrialists and the Municipal Corporations and the town
Municipal Councils having jurisdiction over the areas through which the
river Ganga flow to appear before the Court and to show cause as to why
directions should not be issued them as prayed by the petitioner asking them
not to allow the trade effluents and sewage without treating them. The Court
observed that the nuisance caused by pollution of the river Ganga was a
public nuisance which was widespread in range and indiscriminate in its
effect. It was found on facts that some owners of the tanneries continue to
discharge effluents from their factories into the river Ganga and are refusing
to set up primary treatment plants spite of being asked to do for several
years. The Court said that financial capacity of the tanneries should be
considered irrelevant while asking them to install primary treatment plants.
 8

A tannery cannot be allowed to continue to be in existence just because it

claims that it has no funds to install primary treatment plants.

Likewise, the Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum (VCWF) filed a public

interest petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India against large-
scale pollution of the soil and water caused by a number of tanneries and
other industries in the State of Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court noted that
although the leather industry is a major foreign exchange earner for India
and provided employment. it does not mean that this industry has the right to
destroy the ecology, degrade the environment or create health hazards. The
Court directed the Central Government to take immediate action under
Section 3(3) of India's Environment Protection Act 1986 to control pollution
and protect the environment.

The Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India was again
one of the landmark PILS on environmental issues. The petitioner, the
Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action brought this action to stop and
remedy the pollution caused by several chemical industrial plants in
Bichhri village, Udaipur District of Rajasthan, Calling them as rogue
industries the Court held that the chemical industries inflicted untold misery
upon the poor, unsuspecting villagers, de-spoiling their land, their water
sources and their entire environment-all in pursuance of their private profit
and failed to comply with statutory acts for prevention and control of
pollution. Accordingly, the Court ordered the closure of all these plants.
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Contributions of Public Interest Environmental Litigations

The most important positive impact of Court's approach to environmental

litigations through third party representation has been such that it has
dramatically transformed the form and substance of environmental
jurisprudence in India. Recourse to judicial proceedings is a costly exercise
for those who suffer substantial injuries from environmental pollution. Even
if the aggrieved party takes recourse to judicial proceedings, the Court may
only settle disputes between the appellant party and the polluter, and the
nights of other aggrieved persons remain unsettled. Judicial remedies for
environmental maladies would have effective results only if the remedies
benefit those who are not parties the litigation. By entertaining petitions on
behalf of poor and disadvantaged sections of the society, from different
NGOs and public-spirited people, the Court has attempted to ensure the
rights of people in terms of deciding compensation and providing other
remedies to the affected people.

Allowing third party to bring environmental problems to Court's notice has

also an important bearing on inanimate objects, which cannot represent itself
in the litigation process. The voice of the inanimate objects has been
represented by concerned NGOs and environmental activists through the
instrument of PIL. The polluter has been asked to pay for the damage done
to the natural objects and restore the environment to its natural position.

The relaxation of locus standi principle has also made the decision-making
process more participatory By taking on board the citizens concern about an
inactive indifferent legislature and executive, the Supreme Court has created
space for the civil society groups to engage as active participants in the
scheme for protecting the environment and ensuring individual right to a
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healthy environment. As a result, in a number of cases civil society groups

have put forward different views on development activities such as the
socio-cultural and environmental impact of development Activate policy in
the environmental decision-making process. The increasing attention paid by
judiciary to environmental issues has also brought awareness about
environmental issues across the legal community who was hitherto pre-
occupied with traditional legal issues only and was least concerned about
issues revolving around environmental problems.

Complications of Public Interest Environmental Litigations

Notwithstanding the above progressive implications of the concept PIL for

environmental, certain practical difficulties have emerged in recent years
from judicial entertainment of PILs dealing with environmental cases.
Taking advantage of the Court's lack of expertise on observation of
technicalities, PILs are being filed with little or no preparation, actions are
initiated by filing complaints without proper evidentiary materials to
support them. Expectations are that once a petition is filed, the Court would
do the rest. But, the heart the mat that most of the time, energy and resources
of the Court are getting diverted for getting information on several aspects of
environmental problems, so much so that the justice delivery system is under
great stress and the cracks in it are becoming visible.

Apart from this, the idea behind introducing PIL has been to address public
interest. But there are certain alarming and emerging trends. One of the
most significant ones is that of the PIL method becoming personalized,
individualistic and attention-seeking. There are instances of their
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identification with the personality of a judge or a litigant. In addition to this,

what was considered as an inexpensive and expeditious mode of redressal
has sometimes taken more than a decade to get settled.

There is another danger of directly approaching the highest court. Since, in

such cases, the outcome of the case is entirely dependent on the whims and
fancies of the particular judge, should an adverse opinion be given by the
court, it would mean the end of the road for the seeker of justice, as there is
no one to receive further appeal. It would bring to an abrupt end the quest
for justice without its realization.

Another immediate concern is the increasing number of cases on

environmental issues that have come to judiciary in the name of public
interest but are found to be frivolous in reality. The Supreme Court has
itself recognized and articulated these concerns periodically. Many of the
environmental cases that have appeared before the apex court by way of PIL
are highly technical, involving complex questions of policy-making,
financial support for development projects, and industrial development. In
the absence of proper guidelines to entertain or reject PILs, there is every
possibility that frivolous cases may get a chance and genuine cases may not
be able to draw the attention of judiciary.

Conclusion

A close analysis of the concept PIL on environmental issues reveals that

there has been a fundamental change in the environmental jurisprudence
through the third party representation. The relaxation of locus standi has not
only widened the scope for environmental justice groups to represent on
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behalf of the affected people and inanimate objects but also has led to the
evolution of a series of environmental principles. Given the poor, illiterate,
lack of knowledge about legal system among the majority of people, the
instrument of PIL has been successfully attempted to find out space for those
unheard voices

Through the instrument of PIL environmental NGOs and social activists

have done a great service by bringing before the Supreme Court issues
revolving around environmental problems. However, in recent years, there
has been a deep resentment among the public about the restraint approach of
judiciary towards PIL against infrastructure projects for violation of
environmental laws. There has also been attempt within the judicial system
to bind PILS with guidelines to entertain litigation on environmental issues.

There is, however, an urgent need to document the jurisprudential

achievements of decisions rendered in public interest matters as well as the
benefits which have percolated to society, PILS have, for example,
strengthened the environmental jurisprudence process; they have led to the
evolution of a series of environmental principles and expansion of
constitutional provisions like right to life. The bad, motivated and frivolous
ones should be strongly discouraged. In such situations, the PIL cell of the
Supreme Court should be equipped with all resources to scrutinize and
review the petition and investigate the intention of the petitioners for
drawing the attention of the Court. Its function should be more transparent
than as it is today. Guidelines can result in arbitrariness and injustice. This
holds true for public interest environmental litigation as well.
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USE OF COMPUTER IN LEGAL WORK

Introduction

FEW TECHNOLOGICAL developments are formidable enough to mark

turning points in the history of civilisation. The invention of computers is on
such development. Today they affect every one of us in more ways than we
can even imagine. Computer revolution has influenced all walks of life.
These little machines have substantially changed the life style of most
individuals and especially of professionals throughout the world. According
to a scholar, "computers make out many of the bills we receive and the bank
cheques as well. Computers help to regulate the flow of traffic on a busy city
street, tell a supermarket manager when his stock of detergents is running
low and help a doctor make his diagnosis." They are creating a lot of jobs,
also they are eliminating a lot of jobs and changing the nature of many
others. As a matter of fact, computers are affecting "the ways in which we
think about the world. And the ways in which we think about ourselves. An
American scholar well known for his works on the topic of 'Computers in
Law', has made the following observations on the use and significance of
computers as research tools:

The computer captures the imagination of many researchers. It offers

an opportunity to store vase quantities of data in a comparatively
small space, the ability to search this data very rapidly and make
selections there from and the ability to manipulate or "massage" the
data to produce a result in a format particularly useful to the
individual researcher. One of the advantages frequently touted for
computerised legal research is the possibility of placing into the
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computer's storage area or memory banks the full text of whatever

document is someday to be retrieved.

It is appropriate to mention here that whereas the use of computers and other
electronic devices in the legal profession has been advocated in the West for
the last forty years or so,' hardly any worthwhile attention seems to have
been paid in India until the recent past towards highlighting their use and
significance in this area except for some occasional writings here and there.
Among others, one of the reasons for this indifference appears to be the
nearly complete ignorance about the utility and efficacy of such devices
which in turn has perhaps been due to their exorbitant costs as well as their
non-availability. This fact is coupled with the inability not only of the
individual lawyers, law teachers, researchers and other professionals but
even of law firms and institutions of higher learning to afford such devices
for their use by persons working therein respectively. Notwithstanding all
this, the consensus that is emerging now in India is that in view of increasing
globalisation of the legal profession, use of computers in this profession too
has become the need of the day.

Use of computers in legal education and research

Computers have a very important role to play in modern legal education and
research. For instance, law schools have to generate a variety of written
materials for students as well as for other academic purposes, such as for
conferences, meetings, moot-courts, seminars and workshops, etc. Almost
every law faculty has to supply to the students, the summaries of case law
decided by the Supreme Court, High Courts and tribunals, etc. These
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summaries are normally printed every year by the university press and the
cost of printing is sometimes enormous. Every time the faculty has to pay
the printing and composing charges to the press. However, on the other
hand, if the text is once typed and stored in the memory of a computer, the
required number of copies can be printed out every year. This is likely to be
relatively much less time consuming as well as a much less expensive
exercise in comparison to the printing business. With the computer facilities
available in a law school or a law faculty, all other types of expenses, say for
example, expenses on cyclostyling can also be saved. Once we have a
master print of the required document, it can be easily photocopied and
distributed amongst the students. Similarly, students can also type and
prepare their project reports, etc., on computer, provided the facility is
available to them, too. Nowadays, computers are also being considered as
valuable aids in law teaching. Thus.as a matter of fact, there are so many
ways in which computers can be of great help and utility in modern legal
education.

Computers have an equally significant role to play in legal research. For

instance, every researcher working for a post-graduate essay, an
M.Phil/LL.M. dissertation or Ph.D. thesis has to prepare a working
bibliography. In normal practice, he writes down names of the references
and bibliographical sources on plain pages or on reference cards. Later on at
the time of final report writing, the researcher has, to arrange those cards in
bibliographical order and hand it over to the typist. If a single card is
wrongly arranged, it is likely to be wrongly typed. Moreover, if a researcher
is engaged in research on a topic on which literature appears quite frequently
in the journals, articles, and newspapers, etc., he may have to update the text
 16

from time to time and very obviously the entries in the bibliography would
also change. The major problem arises when the dissertation or the thesis is
at the typing stage and some significant case is decided by the higher
judiciary or some relevant literature appears which a researcher finds
absolutely important to incorporate in his study. If he is working on a
computer, he need not prepare any bibliographical cards, etc. Once
bibliographical entries are put into the computer's memory, they stay there
forever. One can add, remove or make any type of modification in them
without re-writing anything. In case any entry needs to be dropped at the last
moment, one can remove it easily. Similarly, if any entry in case list or even
in the text of the dissertation/thesis is to be made at the last stage, it can be
made without any hassle. In this process, the computer will automatically
adjust the new entry and the page sequence would not be disturbed at all.

Another great advantage of the data processing through computers is that a

researcher can make use of bibliographical sources even after he has
submitted the dissertation/thesis, etc. If he wants to list some of the
references for some article or research paper, etc., there is no need for re-
lyping them at all. The required reference can be selected and very easily
copied on another computer file opened by him and the original bibliography
stays there without any modification whatsoever. The same is applicable to
entries in the list of, (i) cases, (ii) statutes and glossary of acronyms and
abbreviations and even to the chapters, etc.

One of the important benefits of computer-assisted legal research is that

anything typed in the computer can be stored there forever. It can be
changed, modified and/or re-modified by the researcher until even upto the
last day before the text is finally printed. Very obviously, there does not
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arise any need for re-writing of the entire text. Moreover, if some paragraph
is to be omitted and another paragraph is to be inserted, there is no need to
write the entire page. The computer adjusts this change automatically.
Similarly, the page numbers also change automatically. In almost all the
cases, a post-graduate student writing an LL.M. dissertation or a doctoral
scholar writing a Ph.D. thesis has to periodically hand over the written
chapter drafts to his/her supervisor/research guide for their comments,
corrections and suggestions, etc. A research scholar has to write the entire
draft and submit to his/her guide. If the guide suggests substantial
modifications and asks for the revised draft, the scholar has to submit the
same, too. This is obviously quite taxing as well as time-consuming for a
researcher. Further, some supervisors insist on accepting only typed versions
of the drafts which often proves quite expensive for the scholar. However, if
a researcher has access to computer facilities even in an institution, it can
make a lot of difference. For example, once the text of the chapter is typed in
the computer, it is stored there in its memory.

One may make any number of modifications in such text and it stays there.
One can print the text as many times as one desires. The corrections can be
carried out very easily and. of course, very frequently.

Another point which deserves mention here is that where the researcher and
research supervisor work on the same computer in the institution or even on
their own PCs respectively, as most academics do in countries like UK and
USA, a researcher need not even print out the entire chapter draft. The draft
can easily be transferred on a small computer disk/floppy and handed over to
the supervisor who would in turn insert the same floppy in his/her computer,
carry out the necessary corrections and return the floppy to the researcher.
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On inserting the floppy in the computer, the researcher can note down the
comments made by the supervisor and carry out the necessary corrections in
the text. This saves time, energy, effort and money.

There is another benefit of computer-assisted legal research and that is, a

researcher can exchange the floppies with his/her counterparts and
contemporaries, too. That way it facilitates the flow of information amongst
the researchers working in the same field or on related topics of research.
This also leads to division of labour. One research scholar can work on one
topic and another can work on another and they can exchange the
information collected by them respectively. This applies to preparation of
bibliographies also. Such exercises save half the time and serve double the
purpose.

It goes without saying that a research scholar at least a Ph.D. student desires
that once awarded the degree, his/her work should be published. And it is
also very clear that the format, writing style and contents of a Ph.D. thesis
are bound to differ substantially from the manuscript of a book. In the
normal practice, when a Ph.D. scholar is awarded a degree, he has to make
substantial modifications in the text mostly on the lines suggested by the
examiners and later on by the publishers. Once again, this is a very time-
consuming and taxing problem for the scholars who are apparently too much
exhausted after three to four years of intensive work for their thesis.
Therefore, most scholars are no more interested in undertaking such an
exercise. As a result thereof, sometimes a work of an exceptionally good
quality and high standard, which could have easily been published as well as
accepted and appreciated by the academic world and the later researchers,
continues to gather dust in the libraries. On the other hand, if the text of the
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work is already there on the computer, no such problem arises. A file

containing the text of the thesis can be copied on a plain file and then the
researcher can modify the text on the lines chosen by him/her. This way the
original text of the dissertation also stays there and a new manuscript gets
ready almost simultaneously. And if the publisher also accepts, the entire
manuscript can be copied on a pocket sized thin floppy and handed over to
the publisher. This saves his labour, time and money on composing and
typesetting the entire manuscript. Obviously, the book can be published in
much less time than it would otherwise have been possible.

Last but not the least, the information and data stored in computer by the
researcher can be re-utilised for the purposes of publication of research
papers also. For instance, there are six or seven chapters of a thesis and these
are contained in six or seven files. If the researcher so desires he can modify
certain things and each chapter of the dissertation or thesis can turn into a
full-fledged research paper. The researcher does not need to re-type the
paper. The chapter is already a typed one and a copy can be made separately.
This way the original chapter also stays there in the computer memory and
the new folder containing the article is also stored. All new developments,
new case law and new references, etc., can be inserted in the paper to make
it absolutely upto date. Contrary to what we have in India, in the western
countries, a Ph.D. scholar is considered as well within his right to show and
discuss some part/percentage of his thesis even to one's external examiners.
Similarly, the research scholars in these countries are permitted and rather
encouraged to get some part of their research work published in the form of
articles and research papers in journals even before the final submission of
an essay/dissertation/thesis. This goes to the credit of the scholar and he is
 20

appreciated on this account at the time of his/her viva-voce (oral

examination). It encourages a scholar to work more and more as one gets
immense pleasure and satisfaction to see one's own work in print even
before a research degree is finally conferred upon him/her. Thus, computers
play a very important role in legal education and research.

Use of computers for lawyers

When one walks into a lawyer's office, one is greeted with hundreds of
books which contain an enormous amount of information, on the facts and
judgments of cases decided by all the High Courts and the Supreme Court of
India. It is too much to expect that anybody could, or rather would, try to
read all these books. This is perhaps out of question. As a matter of fact,
these books are reference material. When faced with a particular type of
proposition, lawyers hunt through these books trying to find some case that
had similar facts and was decided by some court. One can well imagine the
effort and energy required for such an exercise sifting through those
mountains of information in search of something that one hopes does exist.

In the West, the published material on how lawyers can use computers in
their day to day routine now number in the hundreds - perhaps thousands of
articles. As a matter of fact, lawyers in the advanced countries have since
long been making use of computers in their day to day chamber work.
However, it appears that their use was primarily confined to the word
processing or at the most storage and retrieval of information relating to
their client's cases, etc. Most recently, the computer manufacturers in USA
have come out with powerful computer systems that enable law firms to
 21

even use the internet for everything from legal research to international
communication."

In India too, computers are now beginning to have a discernable impact on

the management of a lawyer's office. As a matter of fact, a computer offers
direct benefits to a legal practitioner. Computer technology is being used for
legal storage and retrieval legal analysis and prediction. 10 Many lawyers
have accepted the computer in its role as an accounting and book-keeping
aid. In essence, there are still many more unexplored uses of the computer
and electronic data processing as an aid to the lawyer in his office
management activities. The data base that a lawyer must research in order to
determine the answer to his client's problem is expanding rapidly. Not only
are the legislatures enacting new laws, but new fields of law are coming into
prominence. These, inter alia, include broadcasting law, consumer protection
law, drugs and narcotics law, education law, election law, environment law,
human rights and humanitarian law, intellectual property law, service law
and victimology. All these fields have developed during the 1980s and early
1990s. Each field brings with it new statutes, new cases, new treatises and
even new case reporters." Therefore, a lawyer has to do a lot of research to
find out the most up to date and most relevant case on his topic.

Computers can help free lawyers from the drudgery of legal research which
can consume a great block of their time. Computerised legal searching can in
seconds, minutes or hours, perform case research that previously would have
taken weeks or months. Computerised research frees lawyers from the
clerical procedure of thumbing through indices and reference texts as well as
eliminating the possibility of overlooking an important precedent because of
the lack of a computer library, or simply by human error because of
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boredom, frustration or fatigue. Computer research lets the lawyer spend the
bulk of his time in concentrating on the law which the computer gives him
instead of spending that time in a thick of books looking for it.

Use of computers in law courts

Computers are also expected to play an important role in the administration

of justice in law courts. Speaking of the use of modern technology in the
public administration of justice, the former Chief Justice of India, R.S.
Pathak had observed that while the customary mechanisms and the tools
adopted by the judicial process as well as by legal profession were old and
relatively slow to change, their clientele operated in a rapidly changing
technology-dependent environment. According to him, business enterprises
and the organisations of society had grown even more complex. This had
resulted in breaking down the required balance between the inputs (i.e., the
number of cases and controversies brought before the judicial process) and
the outputs (i.e., the number of cases and controversies resolved through the
judicial process) resulting in a corresponding accretion in the stress and
burden of backlogs and arrears of cases. Therefore, it was apparent that there
was an urgent need to adopt the new technology in court management if the
judicial process had to keep pace with the dynamic changes in modern
society.

According to Chief Justice Pathak, the most critical application of computers

in the administration of justice lies in the court management and the
maintenance of records. Judicial resources like any other resources are
limited and should be employed effectively and efficiently.
 23

The present system of listing and constituting Benches relies largely on the
skill employed in assessing the probable time of hearing in individual cases
and the ability to adjust rapidly to the changing and sometimes competing
demands of judges, counsel and parties for priority allocation and deferment.
These difficulties multiply in quantity as well as in complexity as the
quantum and nature of the court's work expands. The computer is well suited
to take care of these demands on the judicial process, and particularly on the
Chief Justices and key officials of the Registry of Courts. The memory of
the computer will record details of,

(i) availability of particular judges;

(ii) changing state of lists;
(iii) composition of various Benches; and
(iv) requirements of counsel and parties.

The computer's rapid processing ability can be used to reschedule a list of

short notice so as to take into account all these problematic factors. Orders
and judgments are part of the public record. Unfortunately, considering the
volume of work handled by our courts, it is not possible to trace unreported
judgments easily. Feeding them into a central computer and allowing access
to these data banks would be of considerable assistance to litigants and
lawyers.

In the western countries, computers are now being effectively used in law
courts. For instance, Levy explains the scenario in USA in the following
words:

Courtroom experts say lawyers can no longer ignore technology such as the
Internet if they want to succeed. In fact, many judges welcome computer-
 24

generated exhibits because it's faster to change image on a computer than to

juggle large boards, and clear graphics make it easier for juniors to
understand complex issues.

Courtrooms in at least 29 American states now have computer systems that

enable court stenographers to type directly into the computer and display
trial transcripts in record time. According to some experts, computers make
it possible to easily show animated explanations of complex procedures or
simply to retrieve text from massive depositions. The new systems make it
possible for lawyers to bring entire case files on indexed and annotated CD-
ROMS. Experts are of the view that introduction of the computer into the
animation field has opened a whole new world of ideas, as well as making
some older techniques easier to accomplish. Computer animation and
computer graphics are used today to make anything from television logos to
architectural layouts. But when animation is used to 'frame' or 'exonerate' an
accused person. Everything is made up of hard facts.

Another way that computers are changing trials is that lawyers can show a
video-taped excerpt from a witness deposition very quickly. To challenge a
witness's live testimony in court, the lawyer need only wave a bar code
reader pen on his deposition index and the appropriate excerpt pops onto
monitors from a CD.

It is primarily due to the recent computerisation facility that the Supreme

Court of India has been able to deal with around 25,000 cases within a short
span of time. The Law Ministry at New Delhi is now planning to create an
Internet sile where all case law relating to the Supreme Court, High Courts
and tribunals will be available. 38 In future, one could also expect
computerisation facilities even at the level of district courts in the country.
 25

Conclusion

The use and utility of computers is strongly advocated, but there are also
chances about the possible and probable misuse of computers. Even
computer experts are of the confirmed view that while their versatility is a
great boom, they are also easy victims to the manipulations of criminals with
technical expertise. Experts on white collar crime aver that the chances of a
computer crime being detected is one in ten thousand. According to them, it
is also easy for the computer criminal to commit the crime without leaving
behind any sign which makes the investigation and subsequent prosecution
extremely difficult. However, at the same time experts are of the view that
the majority of computer crimes can be prevented with minor care and
caution on the one hand as well as with a well-structured crime prevention
strategy on the other.

In the second place, it may also be mentioned that whereas computers have
come to occupy a very significant role in the modern legal research, they
only supplement and can hardly replace library or any other type of manual
research.

The unique contribution of computerised legal information retrieval would

appear to lie in the fact that it offers the lawyer a new and different method
of accessing the law. Its practical time-saving advantages can provide the
busy practitioner with a viable method to improve general research habits,
and this factor alone seems to promise continued intensive use and
development in the future.

Thus powerful as the computer may seem, the lawyer cannot be replaced. He
must obtain the facts and characterise the problem. At this point the
 26

computer may perform the research based upon the lawyer's

characterisation. After obtaining the relevant material from the computer
search, the lawyer must analyses and evaluate the material and apply the law
based upon this evaluation.

In summing up, it may be observed that the next generation is the generation
of computers. No serious lawyer, law teacher, and legal researcher in India
can do without computers in the next decade. If not highly technical, at least
a working knowledge of computers is a must for every person connected
with the legal profession in whatsoever manner. As indicated above, some of
the law publishers are now offering information/data concerning the decided
case law on computer floppies. Like the western countries, most law
libraries in India are also likely to become fully computerised in future.
Therefore, the carlier the lawyers, law teachers, and legal researchers are
exposed to the use of computer technology, the better it is. In the case of
legal research, in the first instance, if an institution can afford one computer,
it may be advisable to systematically expose the faculty members, research
scholars and post-graduate students to the new facility. The use of computers
could also help facilitate the exchange of information amongst the different
law faculties. Thus the conclusion is inevitable. There is an urgent need for
computerised and scientific legal outputs from the legal profession as a
whole
 27

IMPORTANCE OF LOK ADALAT

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a

forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation
stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given
statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the
said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a
decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal
against such an award lies before any court of law.

If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there
is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to
initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by
filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to
litigate.

There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a

matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled
subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the
complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. The persons
deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok
Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any
judicial role; therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a
conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and
shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases
or matters either directly or indirectly.
 28

The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance,
instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or
settlement between the parties. The members shall assist the parties in an
independent and impartial manner in their attempt to reach amicable
settlement of their dispute.

Lok Adalat is a system of a dispensation of justice which has come into

existence to grapple with the problem of giving cheap and speedy justices to
the people. Lok Adalat as the very name suggests means people’s court. Lok
stands for people and the Adalat means court.

Nature and Scope:

Generally speaking, Lok Adalat is not a court in its accepted connotation.

The difference between Lok Adalat and law court is that the law court sets at
its premises where the litigants come with their lawyers and witnesses goes
to the people to delivers justice at their door step. It is a forum provided by
the people themselves or by interested parties including social activities or
social activist legal aiders, and public spirited people belonging to every
walk of life. It is just a firm forum provided by the people themselves for
enabling the common people to ventilate their grievances against the state
agencies or against other citizens and to seek a just settlement if possible.

The basic philosophy behind the Lok Adalat is to resolve the people dispute
 29

by discussion, counseling, persuasion and conciliation so that it gives speedy

and cheap justice, mutual and free consent of the parties. In short it is a
party’s justice in which people and judges participate and resolve their
disputes by discussion, persuasion and mutual consent.

Types of cases at Lok Adalat:

The types of cases dealt with generally are:

 Mutation of land cases.

 Compoundable criminal offences.
 Family disputes.
 Encroachment on forest lands.
 Land acquisition disputes.
 Motor accident claim, and
 Cases which are not sub-judice.

Lok Adalats are known as peoples festivals of justice because settlements

are not always necessarily according to legal principles settlements have an
eye mainly on;

 Social goals like ending quarrels

 Restoring family peace
 Providing succor for destitute.

Procedure of Lok-Adalats (Sec. 20)

1. The Lok Adalats are generally organized by state legal aid and advice
boards or the district legal aid committees etc.
 30

2. Lok Adalats shall have jurisdiction to determine and arrive at a

compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect
of;
a) Any case pending before the court; or
b) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of and is not
brought before any court for which the Lok Adalat is organized. The
Lok Adalat shall not have jurisdiction in respect of any matter or case
relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.
3. The date and place of holding a Lok Adalat are fixed about a month in
advance by the Legal Aid Board. The date so fixed is generally a
Saturday or Sunday or some other holiday.
4. Information about holding a Lok Adalat is given wide publicity
through press, posters, radio, TV, etc.
5. Before a Lok-Adalat is held, its organizers request the presiding
officers of the various local courts to examine cases pending in their
courts where in their opinion, conciliation is possible. Once the cases
are identified, parties to the dispute are motivated by the judges of the
Lok Adalats to settle their cases through Lok Adalat.
6. Generally, senior judicial officers are invited to inaugurate a Lok
Adalat.
7. The team of Lok Adalat generally consist of retired judges, senior
local officers, members of the Bar, spirited public-men, active women
social worker, elders of the locality and voluntary social
organizations. The members of the Lok Adalat are called conciliators.
The number of conciliators is usually three.
8. If conciliation result in a settlement of a dispute, a compromise deed
is drawn up and after obtaining the signatures of the parties to the
 31

disputes and their advocates, it is presented to the presiding officer of

the competent court who is normally present at the place where the
Lok Adalat is organized.

9. The judge (Presiding officer) after examining the fairness and legality
of compromise and satisfying himself that the compromise has been
arrived at by the free will and mutual consent of the parties, passes a
decree.

Award of Lok-Adalat (Sec. 21)

1. Every award of the Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a decree of civil

court or as the case may be, an order of any other court and where a
compromise or a settlement has been arrived.
2. Even award made by a Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the
parties to the dispute and no appeal shall lie to any court against the
award.

Powers of Lok Adalat (Sec. 22)

The Lok-Adalat shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court
under the code of civil procedure 1908 while trying a suit in respect of the
following matters namely;
a) The summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and
examining him on oath.
b) The discovery and production of any document.
 32

c) The reception of evidence on affidavits.

d) The requisitioning of any public record or document or copy of such
record or document from any court of office and

Without prejudice to the generality of the powers contained in sub sec. (1),
every Lok Adalat shall have the requisite powers to specify its own
procedure for the determination of any dispute coming before it.

All proceedings before the Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial

proceedings and every Lok-Adalat shall deemed to be civil.

Functions of the Lok Adalat:

Lok Adalat can accept only such cases as come within their competence and
capability for disposal. The movement towards organizing of Lok-Adalats
came into being in respect of a few selected matters. All their initial
functioning they entertained motor vehicle accident causes and appeals
connected with them. It is hopefully expected that the Lok Adalats would
accept other causes also among them being tenure matters, money causes, so
that such disputes are settled on personal bonds or under takings.

This will be indication of the fact that in the matters of resolution of

disputes, India is back to its traditional methods. But even so experience has
shown that it is not easy to bring the parties to dispute to the negotiation
table and to ask them to settle under some kind of compromise involving
give and take.

A large number of legal causes are such that one of the parties is interested
in prolonging litigation and only the other wants a speedy trial. It would
 33

seem that by this approach the state would be saved of needless costs and
also meaningless administrative compilations. Government has to bear many
direct and indirect cost of litigation. As of direct costs, the costs are court
and lawyers’ fees, expenses of prosecution and of attending to incidental
matters.

Indirect costs are loss of time involved in disputes and increasing costs of
expending fiduciary. There are some categories of government litigation in
which Lok Adalats can play a constructive role. One of such categories is
matter arising out of land acquisition. Among the people whose land is
acquired are generally poor villagers those belonging to middle classes.
When their land is taken away, from their hands, they naturally except that
compensation should be provided to them at the earliest movement of time.

Advantages of Lok Adalats

Speedy Justice and saving from the Lengthy Court Procedures

Lok Adalats ensure speedier justice because it can be conducted at suitable
places, arranged very fast, in local languages too, even for the illiterates.

The procedural laws and the Evidence Act are not strictly followed while
assessing the merits of the claim by the Lok Adalat. Hence, Lok Adalats are
also known as “People’s Festivals of Justice”

The victims and the offender may be represented by their advocate or they
can interact with the Lok Adalat judge directly and explain their stand in the
 34

dispute and the reasons thereof, which is not possible in a regular court of
law.

Justice at No Cost
Lok Adalat is the only institutionalized mechanism of dispute resolution in
which the parties do not have to bear any expenses.

There is no court fee in Lok Adalat. If the case is already filed in the regular
court, the fee paid is refunded in the manner provided under the Court Fees
Act if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalat. This kind of refund is an
incentive to parties to negotiate for settlement. Lok Adalat is a boon to the
litigant public, where they can get their disputes settled fast and free of cost.

Solving Problems of Backlog Cases

The curse of backlogs in India is well known and Andhra Pradesh High
Court judge Justice V. V. Rao has gone on to say that it will take 320 years
for the Indian Judiciary to clear its backlog.

In a Lok Adalat, if a compromise is reached, an award is made and is

binding on the parties. It is enforced as a decree of a civil court. An
important aspect is that the award is final and cannot be appealed. All
proceedings of a Lok Adalat are deemed to be judicial proceedings and
every Lok Adalat is deemed to be a Civil Court
 35

The scheme also helps the overburdened Courts to alleviate the burden of
arrears of cases and as the award becomes final and binding on both the
parties, no appeal is filed in the Appellate Court and, as such, the burden of
the Appellate Court in hierarchy is also reduced.

Maintenance of Cordial Relations

The main thrust of Lok Adalats is on compromise. When no compromise is
reached, the matter goes back to the court. While conducting the
proceedings, a Lok Adalat acts as a conciliator and not as an arbitrator. Its
role is to persuade the parties to hit upon a solution and help in reconciling
the contesting differences. Lok Adalat cannot decide the issues nor can it
influence or force the parties to decide in a particular way. It encourages
consensual arrangements

Lok Adalats are also required to follow the principles of natural justice and
other legal principles.

In Lok Adalats, disputes are not only settled but also the cordial relations
between the parties are retained as disputes are resolved amicably. Hence, it
is a very healthy way of dispute resolution.
 36

IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL SERVICE AUTHORITIES

Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted to constitute legal services

authorities for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker
sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice were
not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities and to
organize Lok Adalats to ensure that the operation of the legal system
promoted justice on a basis of equal opportunity. The interpretation of this
Act in the light of its object reveals that it is a very good legislation for the
amicable and speedy disposal of disputes. The Act extends to the whole of
India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. For the proper
implementation of the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987 various authorities have been created at national, state, district and
taluka level. These authorities have also been established at the level of
Supreme Court and High Court

National Legal Services Authority

National Legal Services Authority is the apex authority for providing legal
services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Its composition
makes it clear that people who are not from legal background have also been
given an opportunity to be a part of this authority. When task is of amicable
settlement of disputes by mediation or conciliation, then people with social
 37

background can be more efficiently. The tenure of its members is not very
long. This provision also puts the check on the monopoly of few people in
exercising power under this Act. There are sufficient provisions for funds to
implement the provisions of this Act. These provisions also provide very
strict check against the misuse of the fund by proper maintaining of accounts
and auditing of these accounts at regular interval of time. Such provisions
eliminate the chance of the corruption in National Legal Services Authority.

Functions

 To lay down policies and principles for making legal services

available under the provisions of the Act;
 To frame the most effective and economical schemes for the
purpose of making legal services available under the provisions of
this Act;
 To utilize the funds at its disposal and make appropriate allocations
of funds to the State Authorities and District Authorities;
 To take necessary steps by way of social justice litigation with
regard to consumer protection, environmental protection or any
other matter of special concern to the weaker sections of the
society and for this purpose, give training to social workers in legal
skills;
 To organize legal aid camps, especially in rural area, slums or
labour colonies with the dual propose of educating the weaker
sections of the society as to their rights as well as encouraging the
settlement of disputes through Lok Adalats,
 To encourage the settlement of disputes by way of negotiations,
arbitration and conciliation;
 38

 To undertake and promote research in the field of legal services

with special reference to the need for such services among the
poor;
 To do all things necessary for the purpose of ensuring
commitment to the fundamental duties of citizens under Part IV-A
of the Constitution;
 To monitor and evaluate implementation of the legal aid
programmes at periodic intervals
 To provide grants-in-aid for specific schemes to various voluntary
social service institutions
 To take appropriate measures for spreading legal literacy and legal
awareness amongst the people and, in particular, to educate weaker
sections of the society.
 To make special efforts to enlist the support of voluntary social
welfare institutions working at the grass-root level, · Monitor the
functioning of State Authorities, District Authorities, Supreme
Court Legal Services Committee, High Court Legal Services
Committees, Taluk Legal Services Committees and voluntary
social services institutions and other legal services organizations
 To give general directions for the proper implementation of the
legal services programmes.
The functions of the authority are very wide to cover all
possible acts necessary for the achievement of the object of this
Act. The only need is to implement these provisions with
sincerity and honesty.
 39

Supreme Court Legal Services Committee

The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee imparts the facilities

provided under this Act to the parties whose dispute is pending before the
Supreme Court. Like National Legal Services Authority, it also contains the
provision for the appointment of persons from non-legal background which
is good for the amicable settlement of disputes. People whose disputes are
pending before the Supreme Court can comfortably take the benefit of the
services of this authority as they will not have to go to any other place to
take the provided benefits. As this Authority is specially designed to provide
benefit under this Act to disputes pending before the Supreme Court, it can
perform this work more efficiently. Provisions like short tenure and check
on the use of funds by regular auditing of the accounts prevent the chances
of misuse of power provided under this Act.

Power and Function of Supreme Court Legal Services Authority:

 It shall have powers and functions to administer and implement the

legal services programme in so far as it relates to the Supreme
Court of India;
 For this purpose it can take all such steps as may be necessary and
to act in accordance with the directions issued by the Central
Authority from time to time;
 To receive and scrutinize applications for legal services and to
decide all questions as to the grant of or withdrawal of legal
service;
 To maintain panels of advocates on record and of senior advocates
in the Supreme Court for giving the legal advice;
 40

 To decide all matters relating to payment of honorarium, costs,

charges and expenses of legal services to the advocates on record
and to senior advocates of the Supreme Court;
 To prepare and submit returns, reports and statistical information in
regard to the legal services programme to the Central Authority

State Legal Services Authority

It is not possible for the National Legal Services Authority to implement the
provisions of this Act without the assistance of other subsidiary authorities.
So every State is bound to constitute State Legal Services Authority in its
territory.

Representation of all the departments engaged in the task of maintaining

peace and harmony in Legal Services Authority enhances the chances of
settlement of disputes amicably and speedily. That is why it consist of
members from bench, bar, police department, legislative department, law
colleges and social workers.

The short tenure of the members of the committee puts check on the
monopoly of few members on the exercise of the powers granted under this
Act. The mandate of maintaining proper accounts and its auditing at regular
intervals eliminates the chances of misuse of funds by its members.

The State Legal Services Authorities coordinate the working of the other
subsidiary authorities at district level and give its report to the National
Legal Services Authority. It also gives the directions given by National
Legal Services Authority to District Legal Services Authority. That is way it
 41

acts as a managing link between District Legal Services Authorities and

National Legal Services Authority

High Court Legal Services Authority

The High Court Legal Services Authority provides for the free legal aid and
amicable settlement of disputes pending before the High Court. It also
provides for the speedy disposal of disputes through Lok Adalat.

Composition:

(i) A sitting Judge of the High Court who shall be the Chairman;
(ii) Such number of other members possessing such experience and
qualifications as may be determined by regulations made by the
State Authority, to be nominated by the Chief Justice of the
High Court.

Like National and State Legal Services Authority, it also provides for the
appointment of members from the bench, bar and the social action groups.
Involvement of members from non-legal background is essential for the
mediation and conciliation. Members of this committee are bound to
maintain the accounts of the funds received and expenditure incurred on the
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

A dispute comes before the high court when parties to it were not satisfied
from the session’s court decision. This type of dispute has covered the long
journey of the litigation before the courts and it is in the interest of justice
that there should be an end to litigation. So in such type of disputes,
mediation and conciliation becomes very essential to put an end to it.
 42

District Legal Services Authority

The District Legal Services Authority works at the district level

Like other legal services authority, it also provides for the appointment of
people from bench, bar, social groups etc. which is good for understanding
the grievance of disputing parties and convincing them to settle the disputes
amicably through Lok Adalat. It is bound to do the functions assigned to it
by State Legal Services Authority. Provisions like small tenure of the
members and the maintenance of accounts prevent the chances of
malpractices in the legal services authority.

The Taluka Legal services Authority works at the grass root level and many
times it happens that due to ignorance of their rights or poverty people fail to
make proper legal representation in their case which leads to injustice. So it
is in the interest of justice that needy people should get the free legal
assistance at the grass root level. Taluka Legal Services Authority provides
free legal aid at this important level. It is a useful mechanism to end the
dispute at the initial stage which will save the parties from harassment of
long proceeding and at the same time it will reduce the burden the courts.

Entitlement to Free Legal Aid

Inadequate representation of case before the court due to lack of legal

assistance is a very big reason for injustice and delayed justice. Providing
free legal aid to those people who can’t afford the legal assistance in the
eyes of the law as mentioned under section 12 of the Act is a positive step
towards imparting of justice on equitable basis.

People entitled to free legal services:

 43

 A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;

 A victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred in
article 23 of the Constitution;
 A woman or a child;
 A person with disability as defined in clause (i) of section 2 of the
Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of
Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996)
 A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a
victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood,
drought, earthquake or industrial disaster;
 An industrial workman; or in custody, including custody in a
protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of
the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,1956, or in a Juvenile home
within the meaning of clause (j) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice
Act, 1986, or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home
within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Mental Health
Act, 1987;
 In receipt of annual income less than rupees nine thousand or such
other higher amount as may be prescribed by the State
Government, If the case is before a court other than the Supreme
Court, and less than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher
amount as may be prescribed by the Central Government, if the
case is before the Supreme Court
 In Supreme Court a person whose annual income from all sources
does not exceed Rs.50, 000 per annum shall be entitled to legal
services if the case is before the Supreme Court.
 44

Persons who satisfy any of the criteria specified in section 12 shall be

entitled to receive legal services provided that the concerned Authority is
satisfied that such person has a prima-facie case to prosecute or to defend.
An affidavit made by a person as to his income may be regarded as
sufficient for making him eligible to the entitlement of legal services under
this Act unless the concerned Authority has reason to disbelieve such
affidavit.

LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT

A lawyer’s time and advice are his only stock in trade. But another
important requisite to be a successful advocate is a well-maintained Law
office and its proper management. A systematic management of the law
office could add to the efficiency and productivity of an Advocate.

A well-managed office will also create a healthy working atmosphere and

can attract many clients. Management of Law-office involves various
aspects like location, layout, library, registers, diary, case management, staff
management, meeting and communication with clients, assignment of work
to juniors, utilization of equipments like computer etc.

Law Office Management means a process of managing or maintaining a

proper methodology depending on the needs and demands of the nature of
work. Law office management, in particular, is the continuous process of
keeping, holding, checking, controlling, contriving, and maintaining various
requirements of the profession. Thus, the requirements of the profession
determines the structure, nature, management largely depends on the
 45

financial resources available and the attitude and devotion of an Advocate

towards the profession.

Management of Law-Office involves Management of the following:

 Office’s location and layout;

 Meeting and communication with clients;
 Management of cases;
 Management of Registers and Documents;
 Maintenance of diary;
 Maintenance of Library;
 Management of the staff;
 Management of accounts;
 Utilization of modern equipment like computer, and communication
methods Internet etc;
 Stationery

LOCATION & LAYOUT:

Location of law office depends on various factors like availability of

premises in the vicinity of the court, cost to be incurred for the office
premises, convenience of Advocate and clients. It is always an added
advantage to have a law office in the vicinity of the court premises or in a
place like heart of the city where the people could have convenient and easy
access. Location of the office in a peaceful atmosphere is a requisite of an
office. The layout of office covers the areas like, chamber of advocate,
arrangement of furniture, and accommodation for staffs and clients. A
separate chamber to the Advocate is a requirement, which has to provide
comfortable sitting arrangements for an Advocate. This provides for a
 46

seclusion wherein the clients and Advocate could have confidential

communications and unnecessary interference could be avoided.
Arrangement of the furniture must be made in such a way that it makes the
office tidy and fits into the space of the office in such a manner that
requirement of all is met with.

Accommodation for the staff and clients is very important. Seating

arrangements for the clients and staff have to be provided. Junior Advocates
or assistant must be accommodated in such a way that the Advocate could
easily direct them to do any work. An Advocate cannot attend all the clients
at a time and clients may have to wait for him. Hence, providing a waiting
room with proper furniture, newspapers and magazines is a requirement.
Even on access to television could also be provided.

MEETING AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH CLIENTS:

The meeting and interaction must be carried in a closed chamber so that

confidentiality could be maintained and such an atmosphere is necessary to
make a client feel so comfortable that he could communicate material facts
upon which Advocate’s appraisal and further course of action begins.
Communication with the client requires telephone facility, which would
assist the client in avoiding unnecessary visits to the office. The use of e-
mail could also be made for the purpose of communication. The timing of
office should also depend on the convenience of the Advocate and clients.
The office should be accessible at the hours in which clients could
conveniently contact. Generally during evening, from 7pm to 10pm. The
Advocate’s working nature also determines the timing of the office.
Effective communication requires proper maintenance of diary and registers
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keeping a track of the proceedings of cases so that client could be informed

in advance as to the postings of the case, and steps to be taken by him etc.

MANAGEMENT OF CASES:

An Advocate throughout his career has to deal with cases and keeping a
proper track of the proceedings of every case from the part of case
management. It is very vital since an Advocate has to deal with multiple
cases and there will be lot of scope for confusion if proper management is
not made. From the date of filing of a case, keeping a record of the
proceedings in a register, which could maintained based upon the nature of
the case and in an alphabetical order, have to be maintained and entries have
to be made every day. A junior counsel could be assigned the work of
maintaining the register under the supervision of the Advocate. It is also
necessary to make entries of postings of every case in the Advocate’s diary.
The maintenance of documents is an important aspect of case management.

The maintenance of safety and confidentiality of the documents is a duty

cast upon the Advocate and its proper management enhances the trust of a
client in the Advocate. Thus, proper arrangements for cupboards with
locking facility for storing them are inevitable. A cabin for placing files of
the cases is also a must for the office in order to prevent unnecessary search
for the case files. A cabin or ward robe with 31 pigeon holes or blocks has to
be maintained so that case files could be placed as per the dates. It is a
common most device used by every Advocate. The above aspects are
maintenance of records and entries of a case file. Along with the above
aspects case management also involves proper appraisal of the case, study
and research of appropriate provisions of laws and case laws for which an
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Advocate could create his image and set standards for. Timely action in
consultation with the client at every stage of the proceedings is a must.

MANAGEMENT OF REGISTERS & DOCUMENTS:

Another important aspect of law office management is maintenance of

registers and ensuring the safety of documents. Followings are the important
which have to be maintained:

 Case Register;
 Attendance Register;
 Legal Notices Register;
 Stock Register of Library Books;
 Stock Register of furniture;
 Case Diary;
 Accounts Book;
 Receipt Book ;

The maintenance of these registers can also be made through the computer
programming. The management of the documents has an important role in
office management. In law office each case shall have separate file and such
file should be in a position to explain whole matters relating to such case,
like, title of the case, parties to the suit, status and information about suit and
proceedings (both previous and present), etc. such file shall also contain all
necessary documents relating to the case, like plaint, written statement,
notice, replay to such notice, I A’s, etc. Safety of the original documents
produced by a client is a responsibility of the Advocate and a Shelf with
locking mechanism is a must.
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MANAGEMENT OF CASE DIARY:

An Advocate’s diary is the schedule manager of an Advocate’s work. A case

diary keeps the entries of postings of cases based upon the calendar. This
assists the Advocate in preparing for the next day’s work. A standard form
case diaries are generally provided by the Bar councils to Advocates on its
roll.

MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY:

Every Advocate is in need of a good library of his own. The library of an

Advocate should contain both local and national acts reference books; law
reports and books related to social sciences. These books will be helpful to
the Advocate in knowing the law and precedents. The law reports enable
him to know the decisions of both Supreme Court and High Court on
different cases of both civil and criminal matters. Maintenance of library is a
must for any Advocate. So, he must have the knowledge of scientific way of
maintaining a library. The general procedure of maintaining a library is the
same to all the libraries.

The library should be maintained basing on subject classification. An

Advocate should maintain a catalogue register of library books with call
numbers. He should allot some pages for each category of books. At the
beginning of the register he should prepare an index of subjects. Following
are the important books, which an Advocate requires for his practice:

 Reference Books: The reference books are necessary for the

knowledge of statutory laws.
 General and specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, yearbooks,
directories and bibliographic dictionary are some of the reference
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materials that are constantly useful for Advocates. When an Advocate

finds a dictionary of legal terms and phrases, he should place it in his
library among the reference books.
 Acts and Statutes: He should keep all the important Acts of Central
Government and State Government along with the relevant rules. He
should make them upto date by including the amendments when and
where they are made. By keeping all the relevant Acts in his library,
he can save his time and at the same time he can refer them
immediately without going to any place.
 Periodicals and Law Journals Articles in law journals are important
and indispensable sources of information for an Advocate. The law
reports enable him to have the knowledge of the judicial decisions and
views of the courts on different issues relating to different laws. The
Journal of Indian Law Institute, Indian Journal of International Law,
Academy Law Review, the Administrator, Civil and Military Law
Journal, Criminal Law Journal, Labour Law Journal is some of the
Journals that an Advocate should contribute. Index to Legal periodical
and index to Foreign Legal periodicals are very useful to find the
relevant articles useful for his cases and locate the name of the
journal, volume and number in which that has been published.
 Generally all current legislative material such as Bills, Acts, Rules,
Notifications, etc., is published in the Gazettes of India and the States.
These are very much required to bring the Acts up-to-date.
 The All India Reporter (AIR) is one of the reputed legal periodicals.
The publishers of All India Reporter have published AIR manuals in
multiple volumes.
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 The volumes containing Central and State legislative material should

find place in the library of an Advocate.
 The Supreme Court Reports (Since 1950), The Federal Court Reports
(1939-1950) published the cases decided by them.
 Private publications like All India Reporter, Supreme Court Journal,
Supreme Court Cases and some other publications report the case
decisions of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
 The library can have the literary periodicals of regional languages for
the refreshment of clients who have to wait for the Advocate’s
counseling.
 Some local newspapers should also find place in the library for the use
of clients.

Thus the library should be arranged section-wise by keeping all the reference
books at one place and the books according to the catalogue numbers. The
journals and law reports should be arranged year-wise. The criteria for the
maintenance and management of good library are that any book or journal
be traced easily within short.

MANAGEMENT OF THE STAFF:

Staff in a law office of an Advocate consists of clerk(s), an assistant, typist

or computer operator or stenographer and junior advocates. The work has to
be allotted to fellow Advocates on the basis of their abilities, experience, and
their working style. In practice each junior/fellow Advocate shall be allotted
a court where every day he has to attend cases and other assigned works like
filing of cases, applications etc. The Advocate should constantly supervise
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and monitor the junior Advocates and other staff‘s work and give them
directions as and when required.

MANAGEMENT OF ACCOUNTS:

An Advocate should keep accounts of the client’s money entrusted to him

and the accounts should show the amounts received from the client or on his
behalf, the expenses incurred for him and the debits made on account of fees
with respective dates and all other necessary particulars. Where money are
received from or on account of a client, the entries in the accounts should
contain a reference as to whether amount have been received for fees or
expenses, and during the course of proceedings no Advocate, shall, except
with the consent in writing of the client concerned, be at liberty to divert any
portion of the expenses towards fees.

Where any amount is received or given to him on behalf of his client the fact
of such receipt must be intimated to the client as early as possible. After the
termination of the proceedings the Advocate shall be at liberty to appropriate
towards the settled fees due to him from any sum remaining unexpended out
of the amount paid or sent to him for expenses or any amount that has come
into the hands in that proceeding.

UTILIZATION OF MODERN EQUIPMENT LIKE COMPUTER, AND

COMMUNICATION METHODS INTERNET ETC:

Computers assist the law practitioners by timing, and costing interviews

with clients, besides storage of the case records. Internet facility brought the
whole knowledge of the world into a laptop computer. Information
Technology has developed a lot and e-mail facility helps the Advocates in
communication. An Advocate can get information through websites and he
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can also refer national and international statutes, agreements, and details of
case laws relating to a particular issue through different websites. With the
help of the printer, Advocates can get the printed copy of the documents
needed within no time. With the installation of the computer, an Advocate
can work in his office room, which is sufficient to keep a drawer and a chair.
The information given by his client can be stored in his computer. He can
find the model pleadings and fill them and get print copies to file in the
court. Telephone is a must in Law Office. The clients often ring up the office
to get appointment of the Advocate and to get information about his case.
Advocates can use telephone to give information to their clients and receive
information from them to speed up the professional work. The telephone
saves the time, money and physical strain of the Advocate. For quick
communication telephone proves very useful. It is suggestible that in each
office they should own a Xerox machine; there shall be other modern
facilities like, Fax, advanced telecom system etc.

STATIONERY:

The law office of an Advocate should consist of stationery articles required

for office use such as white paper, wrapper paper, pens, pencils, pins, tags,
pinning machine, twine, gum, envelops, cards, money order forms, postal
acknowledge forms, cards, telegraph forms, postal stamps, pads, case filing
documents, different printed forms, which are to be filed in courts. All these
should be kept in stock and one should not go elsewhere in search of these
needed office articles.