“Justice inaccessible to many”

The legal profession is fastly changing to income oriented business and no longer it is service oriented noble profession.

‘A plain reading of Rule 46 of Bar Council of India Rules in part-VI relating to standards of professional conduct and etiquette made clear that an advocate was under an obligation to provide them legal assistance even when someone was not in a position to adequately pay him for his services, he said, urging the lawyers community to argue a few cases without any fee for the disadvantaged masses.’

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“Justice inaccessible to many”

Special Correspondent

Illiteracy, ignorance and economic conditions major contributors, says judge

— Photo: M. Vedhan

(From left) V. Bharathidasan, Secretary, Madras Bar Association; K. Alagiriswami, president, Madras Bar Association; Justice Elipe Dharma Rao of the Madras High Court; Justice P. Sathasivam of the Supreme Court; and M.Y. Eqbal, Chief Justice, Madras High Court, at an endowment lecture in Chennai on Thursday.

Chennai: In the absence of access to justice, people are unable to exercise rights, challenge discrimination and deprivation or hold decision-makers accountable, said Justice P. Sathasivam, Judge, Supreme Court of India.

Delivering the XIII Endowment Lecture of ‘S. Viswanathan and B.R. Dolia Lecture Endowment Trust' at the Madras High Court on Thursday, Justice Sathasivam said access to justice was made a universal right by UN agencies and guaranteed by the Indian Constitution without any discrimination. However, in reality, because of various factors, it had become unreachable to many.

Illiteracy, ignorance and economic conditions were the major contributors to inaccessibility for justice. On account of socially and economically disadvantages, many legally injured people were not in a position to approach appropriate forum for redressal of their grievances, without even the knowledge that their rights were being violated.

Even if they had the knowledge, they lacked the finance to pay court fees and to meet other expenses, he noted.

PIL was one platform to justice to the disadvantaged sections of society. Various other legal systems and procedures had to work simultaneously to ensure justice for all.

As the three major challenges faced by the disadvantaged groups were availability, affordability and adequacy of legal aid, the governments and non-governmental actors had the duty to ensure access to legal aid and awareness, he said.

Appeal to lawyers

A plain reading of Rule 46 of Bar Council of India Rules in part-VI relating to standards of professional conduct and etiquette made clear that an advocate was under an obligation to provide them legal assistance even when someone was not in a position to adequately pay him for his services, he said, urging the lawyers community to argue a few cases without any fee for the disadvantaged masses.

Justice M.Y. Eqbal, Chief Justice, Madras High Court, said the court of law was the last resort of the people and for effective access to justice, it required the elements of legal awareness, legal access to courts and effective decision making by judges and proper implementation of those decisions.

Justice Elipe Dharma Rao, Judge, Madras High Court, presided. M. Ravindran, Additional Solicitor General of India, introduced the speaker. Senior advocate A.L. Somayaji briefed about the trust. Madras Bar Association president K. Alagiriswami welcomed the gathering and secretary V. Bharathidasan proposed a vote of thanks.

-A report from The Hindu, dt.4.9.10.