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INTRODUCTION
Old Lawyers Never Die; They Just Loose Their Appeal...
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Adv. Ram Jethmalani

The initiative of our esteemed college i.e. Symbiosis Law School, Pune; the faculties and due
to the initiative of Dr. K. Parameshwar, we got this opportunity to sit in the judicial
academy and learn something that we will cherish in the journey of building our successful
professional career. On 18th of March 2015 a field visit to Maharashtra Judicial Academy
& Indian Mediation Centre & Training Institute was organized by the Symbiosis Law
School, Pune. Maharashtra Judicial Academy chiefly imparts quality Judicial Education to
the Judicial Officers, Public Prosecutors and other Stakeholders and is operated under the
jurisdiction of Bombay High Court. The High Court of Bombay has long recognised the
need to provide all our judges an opportunity to develop professional competencies to equip
them with inputs like knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, character and attitude required
for the judging profession.

Purpose of the visit: The purpose of the visit was that the students were given exposure to
lecture on different subjects by various experts from the institute. Apart from a brief
introduction to the court procedure in state level; students were also told about the procedure
how judiciary is a very viable career option in todays world. Also different aspects of
psychology and emotions were discussed. Civil and criminal trials were discussed in detail in
the sessions held. It gave us opportunities to understand the perspectives of different
stakeholders in the justice administration system like Police, Prosecutors, Bar Members,
Legal Services Authority Members, Civil-Society Organisations, Psychiatrists and others.

SESSION I - CIVIL PROCEEDINGS


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Ms. Pushpa.V. Ganediwala

The following topics were covered by her in the entire discussion of the 1st Session:
SUBSTANTIVE LAW AND PROCEDURAL LAW
The session began with her explaining the difference between Substantive law and Procedural
law. Substantive law according to her defines the rights and procedural law determines the
remedies to enforce such rights.
CIVIL COURTS AND THEIR JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS
The scope of Section 9 of CPC, 1980 was explained and that all civil courts have unlimited
civil jurisdiction unless expressly barred by statutes. For example Consumer Court formed
under the Consumer Protection Act or the Industrial Court or the Cooperative Courts. She
also focused on the difference between Social Agreements and Legal Agreements. The
structure of the judiciary was explained to us starting from the Munsif or Magistrates court to
district court to the Supreme Court, various powers and limitations of the courts were taught.
We were also taught that how powers among the courts were divided according to the suit
valuation or the maximum punishment they can prescribe.
Hierarcy of courts in Civil Matters

Value of the subject matter of the

Supreme Court

suit (Rs)
Any amount

High Court

Above 10 lakhs

District Court

Upto 10 lakhs

Subordinate Judges Court

Above 5 lakhs

Munsiffs Court

Upto 5 lakhs

* Value of the subject matter of the suit in case of City Civil Court in Mumbai is above Rs 1
crore.
KINDS OF JURISDICTION

We also had a detailed discussion on jurisdictions. She explained that there are three types of
jurisdiction. They are:
1. Subject Matter A court should mandatorily speculate the suits subject matter
jurisdiction and then admit the suit. In case the suit is found to be beyond the subject matter
jurisdiction of the court the decree is considered to be invalid nonest. Where subject matter
jurisdiction is there but application of mind is not there it is known as error within
jurisdiction. If subject matter jurisdiction is not there but application of mind is there it is
called error without jurisdiction.
2. Territorial Jurisdiction Unless the objection is raised during the trial any judgement
given by the court violative of its territorial jurisdiction will be valid. Section 15 deals with
suit related to recovery of property. Territorial jurisdiction depends upon where the property
is situated or where the defendant resides and so on as provided in the Code of Civil
Procedure. One of the elements to decide territorial jurisdiction as enlisted in the Code is
cause of action. Cause of action is decided upon a bundle of facts like:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Place of agreement
Consideration
Terms and Conditions
Breach
Damages

3. Pecuniary Jurisdiction - Pecuniary jurisdiction is the power of the courts to decide the
case based on suit valuation limit. Pecuniary like territorial jurisdiction is not invalid non- est.
Every court has its suit valuation limit. Cases of suits valuation of less than 5 lakhs are dealt
by or have jurisdiction in Civil Judge Junior Division and suits above 5 lakhs would be dealt
by Civil Judge Senior Division. Bombay City Civil Court will have entire jurisdiction over
matters below the valuation less than 1 Crore. If the matter is of worth above 1 crore it would
be tried in HC or above. However the general rule is that every trial should be first put for
trial in the lowest court in consonance with the above rule of suit valuation.

PROCEDURE IN CIVIL COURTS

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The procedure of a civil trial was explained.

We came to know the difference between decree and order. Decree is basically the formal

expression of adjudication and Order is the formal expression of decision. An appeal is


provided for all decree but is allowed in only few cases in respect of order. Also we came to

know an interesting aspect of appeal .If during the appeal, the cases involves a new question

of law then it can decide and not direct it to the lower court. But if it has a new question of
fact, then the case is sent back to the lower court to frame issues matter record evidence etc.

Whether Consent can confer Jurisdiction. For this matter the Doctrine of Dominus Litus
was explained. If there is ambiguity as to the type of territorial or pecuniary jurisdiction the
decision is on the plaintiff party to choose a court. The partys choice to choose a forum will
be given weightage when 2 courts have jurisdiction over the same matter depending over the

defendants residence and cause of action. Though an agreement cannot bestow jurisdiction
which a court otherwise does not possess.

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TO FILE COMPLAINT

Documents need not be original while filing. Copies of the same could also be provided.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Copy of complaint
Vakalatnama ,
Residence proof,
Affidavit and documents

SESSION II PSYCHOLOGY
The session was taken up by Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist. The session on psychology was
actually on the colourful side. Dr. Shetty was actually very entertaining throughout and had a
unique way of delivering his lecture. He told us about different emotions of human. They are-

EALSH o mnan a d p o p t i
givn o ey n rs s s
An elaborate discussion on all of these emotions took place.

He explained that each one of these are positive emotions but their extreme are not

good.
For example lets take sadness. People believe that sadness is not a good emotion. But
once we discussed we realised sadness had its own beauty too. For example a mother
and son hugging and crying before separating is actually sad but at the same time a
beautiful moment. However a person not feeling any sadness is actually pressurising
the feeling in and is actually creating a dark spot within him that is actually killing
him. Same goes with the other extremity of sadness i.e. depression. Getting in

depression is bad.
Same goes with envy is actually a positive feeling where one person admires the other
but its extreme i.e. jealousy is bad because in this one person wants ill of the other.
Therefore all emotions are actually necessary in all human and that makes the person

human but that should be in a reasonable amount. Extremity of any emotions is bad.
Finally we discussed love which Dr. Shetty claimed to be the most wonderful feeling.
He didnt hesitate to elaborate these instances with examples of his own personal life.

We also learned about differences in feeling and anticipated feelings. According to


him every person anticipates some kind of feeling. Some of them are:
I.
Anticipating glory
II.
Anticipating joy
III.
Anticipating peace
IV. Anticipating worries

For example worries. People get tensed more due to an anticipated worry than when
there is actually a reason to do so. Same goes with anticipating routine, rejection,
narcissism and joy. These anticipatory feelings are there in all of us but there is
nothing more harmful than these. Most of the time it tends to make us react we dont

want.
He also talked about emotional hijacking which is a state when an individual's
cognitions are overpowered by his/her emotions. It is usually referred to in the context
of aggression or fearfulness. With respect to aggression, it can be said to be a sudden
unleashing of rage towards another person. It is an extreme emotional outburst or an
emotional explosion caused by an incident that may trigger anger or fear in an
individual.

SESSION III - JUDICIARY AS A CAREER OPTION


Being unaware about the attractive prospects of judicial service career, initially students were
sceptical they did not consider judiciary as a good career option. But that was prior to the
presentation on Judiciary as a career option by Shri D. R. Deshpande, Assistant Director.
Although Mr. Deshpande put up a very neutral picture in front of everyone; seeing the pros
outweigh the cons the students chose accordingly.
ADVANTAGES OF JUDICIAL SERVICE:

Socially and economically secured life Judicial post being a job directly under the
central government is a very secure job. Socially secured because everyone speaks
highly of the post because of the reputation and valour gained over the years.
Economical security is due to the numerous monetary as well as non-monetary
benefits provided to the position holder.

Pay benefits Salary though initially is not stupendous but gradually escalates and

rounds off to a nice figure. Apart from that there are various allowances, perks and
After retirements benefits These are also provided in abundance
Job satisfaction- Job satisfaction is quite high comparison to other jobs. The sense of
power, the dignity in the society and obviously the reduced working hours are

sufficient reason for one to be satisfied with his her job


A sense of power and control- A sense of this power in judge is an aspect which
makes the job all the more appealing. One signature of his can determine the life of a

person.
Respected Man- He receives respect from other parts of the society always although

he stays aloof.
No Reporting- A judge is not answerable to anyone for his actions or inactions. He is
the boss of his own court.

DIS-ADVANTAGES OF JUDICIAL SERVICE:

Judges and their family have to suffer because of frequent transfers.


He may not be able to give sufficient timing to the family as he would be busy with

his job.
He is also barred from leading a normal social life and has to work accordingly as to

keep the dignity of the post.


Each of his actions reflects back on the dignity of the post. Had they been working
elsewhere with such dedication, he would have got much more renumeration as

compared to what he is getting now.


Long working hours, burdensome job and pressure is sometimes frustrating.
Many a time a judges social life is at stake due to the ethical code binding on him and
his socially aloof life. Most of the time he has to be indifferent to favours asked from

him by people closest to him.


The remuneration may not be directly proportional to the effort that he/she is putting.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

A high sense of responsibility is required.


To be impartial and unbiased. Even a small misinterpretation of fact in a case may
lead to the conviction of an innocent man. He should not to have a feeling of revenge
at any point of time.

To maintain dignity of the post. A judge always has to keep the dignity of the post in

mind and work accordingly.


He has to have ice on his head and sugar on his tongue i.e. he need to keep himself
calm in every situation, even in the most tense ones and has to speak in a polite

manner however frustrated he may be.


Restrictions in the social life.
Social aloofness i.e justice to friends cannot be met.

QUALITIES
The motivation offered in the seminar enlightened the students to take conscious decision to
include Judiciary as one of the career options. A conscious decision because the job itself has
its own set of demands. The job of a judge demands certain qualities out of him which makes
the career promising as well as demanding.
The qualities expected out of him are

A high sense of responsibility is required. Even a small misinterpretation of fact in a

case may lead to the conviction of an innocent man.


He always has to keep the dignity of the post in mind and work accordingly.
He has to have ice on his head and sugar on his tongue i.e. he need to keep himself
calm in every situation ,even in the most tense ones and has to speak in a polite

manner however frustrated he may be


He has to have Patience no matter how tiresome his day has been or how pathetic the

lawyer in front of him is pleading


He needs Tolerance as an inherent character. Proceedings are slow in nature thus he

needs to have this one basic quality


He needs to do justice at the end of the day thus Judication.
He has to be a Good listener.
He needs to be Impartial throughout. Being a judge he cannot be emotional, sensitive
Good legal Reasoning and logic not because his career grows but because his decision
is reflected throughout. He needs to be clear though not justified and should put
correct application of mind in the case. It also implies that the decision will determine

the life of a person.


He should be clear in his Knowledge before he is in his logic.
He should be Punctual despite the world around him.
Integrity is the soul of his profession. He cannot afford to loose that.

At the end of the session when the students were asked if they wanted to take on judiciary as
a career option obviously there was a larger show of hands than there were at the beginning
of the session. They were provided vital information in respect of emoluments, perks and
several benefits along with aspect of job like frequent transfers and an aloof social life.

SESSION IV A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS


This session was conducted by Shri S.V. Yarlagadda, Additional Director; Maharashtra
Judicial Academy. In this session he began with various powers of the court and articles of
constitution in respect of criminal law Then he explained different stages of a criminal trial
starting from evidence to cross examination to arguments and ultimately a judgment. Which
if put summarily stands as follows:

COURT PROCEDURE
India has a well-established statutory, administrative and judicial framework for criminal
trials. To appreciate the process of Indian criminal law, sir discussed the following important
terminology related to it:

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Procedure of Criminal Trail in India

Filing of chargesheet (200 CRPC): The charge sheet is the brief summary of how an
offence had been committed. The charge sheet also contains the names of the person
who were investigated but could not be charged due to lack of evidence in the eyes of
the investigating agency. Filing of the charge sheet generally means that the
investigation in the case is over and now the court has to consider the evidence

collected by the investigating agency.


Cognizance (190 CRPC): Court takes the matter for examining....may/may not take
up the matter (200 -204 of CRPC)
Turn up: There are two types of turn up:
- Represented by a lawyer (Sec 205)
- Accused appears in person (Sec 317) in this case the court may grant bail...if the
accused disrupts the proceedings of the case

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If accused not appear then file petition or is termed condoned and warrant will be

issued
Plead guilty.... if yes then execution of judgement stage is initiated.....taken into

judicial custody from present police custody


If not then proceedings are initiated
Examination in chief (138 and 139 of Evidence Act)
- The witnesses are one by one questioned in front of honourable judge.
- All the previous witness given in front of police or any other public officer now will
-

stand cancelled.
Whatever the witness is saying in front of the judge is taken as valid evidence.
The witnesses are questioned known as SAKKHI/JERA

Examination of Accused (313 of CRPC)


- The accused will be questioned and examined by the court on the basis of
-

evidences received.
The accused might take defence under 138 and 139 of CRPC....if not further

proceedings
Arguments take place between lawyer of both the side under section 314 and 315

of CRPC.
Both the sides are heard reasonably by the judge.
JUDGEMENT is passed.

MIRANDA RIGHTS OF INDIA


Right to remain silent was one of the interesting aspects discussed. The right covers a number
of issues centred on the right of the accused or the defendant to refuse to comment or provide
an answer when questioned, either prior to or during legal proceedings in a court of law. This
can be the right to avoid self-incrimination or the right to remain silent when questioned.
Whatever statement given by the witness or the accused before the police is struck down and
a fresh statement is taken before the Magistrate in order to ensure that evidence is not
collected by coercion but extracted in a manner that is the outcome of shock of conscience
as is dictated under Section 138 and 141 of Indian Evidence Act.
JURISDICTION
Jurisdiction of Criminal Courts are mostly centred around pecuniary jurisdiction based on the
amount of punishment that they can sentence an accuse to.

Judicial magistrate 1st class can prescribe punishment up to 5 years,


Chief Judicial Magistrate can prescribe punishment up to 7 years

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Sessions court has been bestowed with the power to deal with death penalty with the

approval of High Court.


High Court and Supreme Court has anyway unlimited criminal jurisdiction.

Then there was an open discussion and brainstorming session. Various topics mostly recent
ones related to the criminal law field were discussed.
Juvenile justice system in India
The first discussion was on lowering the age of juveniles. It can be summarised as follows:

The discussion was mostly on whether the lower limit of the age of juveniles to be
reduced to 16 or to be kept 18. Arguments in favor and against were placed by both
professors and students present. Aspects of rarest of rare crimes were also considered.
The timeline of the development of the age of the juvenile was discussed, from 1986

to the current date and the varying ages of juveniles


Attempts have been made to ensure enforcement by drafting Model Rules 2007 as an
addendum to the Act and by creating an Integrated Child Protection Scheme. A ray of
hope glimmers in the form of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill
2011, which not only aspires to curb the sexual atrocities against our children, but also
to rein the media by prohibiting comments on child, either accused or victim of an
offence, which may lower character or infringe privacy. It is high time now that the
social workers take up the role of a friend, adviser, reformer and healer
simultaneously, and NGOs come forward to seek charge of juveniles pending or on
completion of inquiry.

PROBLEM SOLVING
Finally we all were given a problem to solve where two children one below seven year and
the other below eighteen years has committed a crime of removing a movable property from
railway station under a misconception of thinking it to be a part of their daily chores. All the
relevant Sections were mentioned. The only thing we had to do is to solve it using logical
reasoning and determine the competent court that could decide on the case.

CONCLUSION

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Mostly law students get lectured by law professors, lawyers but understanding law from a
judges point of view is a new experience altogether. With the very efforts taken from the
College and brilliant hospitality provided by the administrators of the judicial academy, we
found this rare opportunity a success which will be very useful in building up our
professional career. We learnt that the task of the judiciary is not easy and that although the
job looks appealing in the first instance but it takes away more from you than it gives you.
Yet the students were courageous enough to consider it as a career option seeing such brilliant
examples in front of them. Although at around 6.00 pm in the evening we all left with a heavy
heart in a hope that someday we will enter similar judicial academy not as students but as
judges. We look forward to and also request College and our professors to keep organising
such educational tours.

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