October 16, 2017

“How can you select someone as a Judge if he isn’t worthy of being a Senior Advocate?”

Taking its cue from the Apex Court’s guidelines issued last Thursday which stated that a lawyer should’ve fought a certain no. of cases pro bono (free of cost) in order to be designated as a Senior Lawyer, the govt. wants this same principle to be followed in appointment of Judges as well.

Govt. sources told The Hindu that a lawyer’s pro bono record should be considered while elevating him/her as a Judge.

However, the issue is tricky as Judges to higher courts are appointed by the SC collegium – made up of the top 5 Judges of the Court – and the Law Ministry only has to give its concurrence.

So, this idea has to be 1st approved by the collegium before it can be implemented.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, answering the proposal is under active consideration, was cautious & merely said, “Our govt. encourages pro bono lawyering; exposure to pro bono lends its own weight.”

Another senior official of the Law Ministry who’s familiar with this issue said that “How can you select someone as a Judge if he isn’t worthy of being a Senior Advocate?”

New guidelines

On 12th October, the SC fixed guidelines on how to designate a Senior adv. & mentioned pro bono work as 1 of the criteria.

The Apex Court has now set up a committee that’ll also look at various other criteria apart from pro bono work.

Integrity, reputation, conduct & the no. of reported judgments in which the adv. has appeared would all be factored in by the committee before recommending someone as a Senior adv.

The National Legal Services Authority(NALSA) & State Legal Aid Authorities offer free legal aid to those who cannot afford it. Now, the Apex Court’s new guidelines are expected to give a big boost to the effort. The Dept. of Justice has also written to various Bar associations asking for data on lawyers offering free legal service.