Legal Profession Not 20-20 Match; It's More Like A Test Match, Be Ready To Play Long Innings: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday urged lawyers to be 'vigilant' and ensure that the factors like belief, faith, caste etc does not affect the brotherhood and fraternity in the profession as the same can adversely affect the country's democracy and also the independence of the judiciary.

"I do not have any magic mantra but can only tell the young lawyers today that your success must be built on the edifice of your own hardwork and not at the expense of others... There is enough space for everybody to shine in the legal profession... We are like a family and be like it... Do not let other things vitiate the fraternity... The Bar must remain vigilant because the independence of judiciary is non-negotiable. it is one of the basic features of our democracy. If our country has to be democratic and democracy has to flourish our judiciary has to be independent. And for that the Bar must be vigilant. It must be able to call a spade a spade," Justice Bhuyan said. 

Justice Bhuyan was speaking at the inaugural lecture organised by Pune Bar Association (PBA) to honour the legacy of four late advocates - BE Avhad, ND Pawar, Vijay Nahar and Viraj Kakade—who made significant contributions to the legal profession.

Emphasising on his experience in Maharashtra (as a Bombay High Court judge), Justice Bhuyan said the State "is a very very progressive and liberal State and the people here have their own ethos, their own feeling of brotherhood"

"This State has produced numerous reformers and political thinkers... My earnest appeal to all of you lawyers is that you are the torchbearers and leading members of the society, please maintain the feeling of fraternity, feeling of brotherhood, respect for each other, fellow beings, respect for your colleagues irrespective of their caste, their faith or from which region they come from. This is the essence of Maharashtra, please maintain this," Justice Bhuyan stressed.

Citing the response of Prof Upendra Baxi on what are the three qualities a judge must always have, Justice Bhuyan reiterated, "Spine, Spine and Only Spine."

Time To Do Away With The Expression "Subordinate Judiciary"

In his nearly 40-minute speech, Justice Bhuyan emphasised on the need to remove the expression 'subordinate judiciary' often used for the lower courts or the district counters across the country.

"It is true we have hierarchy of courts but that does not mean that each hierarchy is subordinate to the higher court...We have seen in so many courts even the Bombay High Court, especially in bail matters, wherein, they dismiss the bail plea and order the Trial Courts to conclude the trial within a few months etc. Justice (Abhay) Oka has in his judgment has also said no court of law is inferior or superior to the other. In fact, in our recent judgment, we have asked the Registry not to refer the districts court as subordinate or lower but to call them Trial courts," Justice Bhuyan said. 

With this, Justice Bhuyan made it clear that "the time has come to relook at this and stop this expression of 'subordinate' courts"

Citing Prof Upendra Baxi, the apex court judge said, "The use of the expression 'subordinate judiciary' reflects colonial mindset as it reflects subjugation, subordination... district courts aren't subordinate in that sense...It impacts dignity of lawyers and judges alike... they are not in any manner subordinate to lawyers practicing in the higher courts."

Justice Bhuyan further cited the career of Justice HR Khanna to bring home his point that to become a successful lawyer or a constitutional judge, one need not practice only in the higher courts. 

"If you look at the judicial history of this country, one of the greatest judges came from the lower judiciary - Justice HR Khanna... He practiced before the district and sessions courts," the judge said, adding, "You need not practice in a high court to become a great constitutional judge.. To be a judge or a great lawyer it is not necessary that you start your practice at the HC or the Supreme Court... Legal battles are fought in trial courts some of the greatest lawyers have started from trial courts."

The judge urged the lawyers to think from the perspective of the litigants because every litigant wants to know within how much time his or her case will be decided. "The system as such Judges and Lawyers alike should be in a position to respond to that and we should be able to tell the litigant that your case will be taken up by the court within a reasonable time but again what is reasonable time again we need to find out ways and means to tackle the problem of pendency," the judge said. 

The judge further said that since lawyers and even judges are humans and cannot be expected to work round-the-clock, it is time to consider the provisions of section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), which provides for alternate dispute resolution and that is one of the ways to resolve or tackle the issue of pendency.

Legal Profession Is Not A 20-20 IPL Match But A Test Match

The judge in his address told the young lawyers that the legal profession demands more time and dedication and if one sticks to it, they can flourish.

"Legal profession is not a 20-20 IPL match, it is not even a ODI.. It is more like a Test match... you must be technically sound to play a long long innings... you must be able to face the spinners, fast bowlers and even the bouncers... therefore, stick to basic... Law is not rocket science it only requires hardwork and perseverance...I don't like this expression but yes Law is a jealous mistress you must be committed to the legal profession." Justice Bhuyan said. 

The video of the speech can be watched here.