Swarajya Logo
Swarajya Logo
Politics States Economy Society Business Culture Infra Defence World Books Ideas Science Technology Heritage Archives Legal Movies Sports
  • Our Views
    Politics States Economy Society Business Culture Infra Defence World Books Ideas Science Technology Heritage Archives Legal Movies Sports
  • Magazine
  • Store

About Swarajya

Swarajya is a publication by Kovai Media Private Limited.

Swarajya - a big tent for liberal right of centre discourse that reaches out, engages and caters to the new India.

editor@swarajyamag.com

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Subscriptions Support
  • Editorial Philosophy
  • Press Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Refund & Cancellation Policy

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Subscriptions Support
  • Editorial Philosophy
  • Press Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Refund & Cancellation Policy

Participate

  • Contact Us
  • Write for us
  • Style Guide
  • Jobs

Stay Connected

  • Artboard 2 Copy 6Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 10Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 7Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 9Created with Sketch.
  • Andriod Logo
  • IOS Logo

Ideas

The Case For Curbing Verbosity Within Indian Judiciary

Hardayal SinghSaturday, August 7, 2021 12:02 pm IST
A gavel (Pixabay)
A gavel (Pixabay)
A gavel (Pixabay)
  • One of the reasons for large case pendency — growing at 19 per cent per annum currently — is the propensity of the courts at all levels to write verbose judgments.
  • These result when judges fail to restrict the time taken by counsels to argue their briefs. The written arguments, too, are often repetitive, lack clarity, suffer from over-writing and waste the time of the court.
  • A cultural change is, therefore, called for.
  • Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, a senior judge of the Supreme Court, has pithy advice for both judges as well lawyers: avoid verbosity, he writes, because this vice often contributes to judicial delays.

    In a post script to his judgment on whether the Legislative Assembly of Delhi can summon Facebook or not, he discusses the failure of Indian courts to decide cases quickly.

    As on 15 April this year, 67,279 cases were pending before the Supreme Court, 57.53 lakh before the High Courts and 3.81 crore before the trial courts.

    One of the reasons for this large pendency — growing at 19 per cent per annum currently — is the propensity of the courts at all levels to write verbose judgments. These result when judges fail to restrict the time taken by counsels to argue their briefs. The written arguments, too, are often repetitive, lack clarity, suffer from over-writing and waste the time of the court.

    Lawyers apparently expect the courts to consider all the judicial precedents they cite in support of their verbose submissions. Since judges find it difficult to do this, humungous delays result between the time cases are heard and judgments are delivered.

    Curative and revisionary petitions are filed when judges fail to write judgments by this standard. The victim in the inevitable delays in following these archaic practices, is the citizen who must watch helplessly as wrong doers get away with their wrong doing for decades together.

    One way out this morass is to prescribe that counsels should not cite precedents in support of legal propositions unless the court asks for the same. The Privy Council in the U.K. follows the dictum that “if it is not necessary to refer to a previous decision of the court, it is necessary not to refer to it.” (Rex v. Erskine).

    If the purpose of a judgment, points out Justice Kaul, is to explain the reasons for a decision to the litigants, this would be much better served, if the judge is concise and uses everyday language rather than technical jargon.

    In a nutshell, he must be able to write an effective summary of the arguments made by the two sides, his final decision and the reasons for it. To save his own time and that of the litigating parties, the judge must be able must be able to adapt the principles of précis writing discussed by P.C. Wren and H. Martin in ‘High School English Grammar and Composition,’ a time tested textbook, first published in 1935.

    Justice Kaul may as well have also invited attention to another classic dating back to the 1918. This is William Strunk’s and E.B. White’s Elements of Style, a compulsory reading for freshmen in Ivy League colleges in the U.S.

    This slim volume advises students to use the active voice and plain words; not to overwrite or repeat; and to use definite, specific and concrete words in preference to abstract ones.

    A report, the authors write, should not have unnecessary paragraphs; a paragraph should not have unnecessary sentences; and a sentence should not contain unnecessary words.

    Justice Kaul hopes that his post script will ignite fresh thinking in the legal community towards bringing the law closer to the common man, through timely judgments that he can understand.

    Inadvertently, however, he has raised a much more basic issue of the role of effective written communication in modern life. This goes much beyond his immediate advice to judges and lawyers. The principles he discusses certainly apply to civil servants when they write their notes and orders; but more generally, they are relevant for everyone who deals with words.

    In a country where people generally tend to be argumentative, the art of writing precisely is becoming rare. The only exceptions are journalists, who realise more than anyone else, that discipline in reporting is important because space is limited and costs money.

    Effective communication is relevant for all professions. This is because people lead busy lives and lack of clarity and verbosity impose enormous demands on readers.

    As a result, important messages are lost. Nobody has the time or patience to read afresh an unclear communication. Précis writing must, therefore, be accorded a much higher priority in high school language curriculums.

    Tags
    Supreme COurt
    Indian judiciary
    Civil Servants
    Lawyers
    High Courts
    Journalism
    court judgements
    Trial Courts
    Courtrooms
    verbosity
    Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul
    precis writing
    government orders
    file notings
    wren and martin
    english language

    Comments ↓

    An Appeal...


     

    Dear Reader,

     

    As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.

     

    Our business model is you and your subscription.  And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.

     

    We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.

     

    Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.

    Get Swarajya in your inbox.


    Magazine


    Swarajya Magazine Cover Image
    Merchandise

    Merchandise


      Politics

      Counting Day: Keep Your Eye On These 10 Seats In Madhya Pradesh

      Counting Day: Keep Your Eye On These 10 Seats In Madhya Pradesh

      Tushar Gupta
      8h

      The Sacrifices That Sealed A Commitment — 'Mandir Vahin Banayenge'

      Aravindan Neelakandan
      13h

      Delhi Liquor Policy Case: Enforcement Directorate Files Charge Sheet Against AAP MP Sanjay Singh

      Swarajya Staff
      14h

      Economy

      Textile Industry In Tamil Nadu Affected By Increased Competitiveness Of Other States; High Cost Of Power And Labour Among Reasons: Report

      Textile Industry In Tamil Nadu Affected By Increased Competitiveness Of Other States; High Cost Of Power And Labour Among Reasons: Report

      Swarajya Staff
      14h

      Sorry, Cassandras. India's GDP Could Well Top 7 Per Cent In Fiscal 2023-24

      R Jagannathan
      2d

      India's GDP Grows 7.6 Per Cent In July-September Quarter

      Nayan Dwivedi
      2d

      Defence

      India To Secure Entire Pakistan And Bangladesh Borders In Next Two Years: Home Minister Amit Shah On BSF Day

      India To Secure Entire Pakistan And Bangladesh Borders In Next Two Years: Home Minister Amit Shah On BSF Day

      Nayan Dwivedi
      1d

      Indian Navy Makes History By Appointing First Female 'Commanding Officer' Of A Naval Ship

      Swarajya Staff
      2d

      Centre Putting All-Out Efforts To Bring Them Back: Indian Navy Chief On Veterans Sentenced To Death In Qatar

      Swarajya Staff
      2d

      World

      Hamas Leader, Who Virtually Addressed A Pro-Palestine Rally In Kerala In October, On Israeli Spy Agency's 'Kill List': Report

      Hamas Leader, Who Virtually Addressed A Pro-Palestine Rally In Kerala In October, On Israeli Spy Agency's 'Kill List': Report

      Swarajya Staff
      14h

      New Zealand: Three Khalistani Extremists Sentenced For Attempted Murder Of Radio Host Harnek Singh

      Swarajya Staff
      16h

      Brazilian City Council Unknowingly Enacts First AI-Written Ordinance

      Swarajya Staff
      18h

      Culture

      'Animal': Sandeep Reddy Vanga 2 – Liberals 0

      'Animal': Sandeep Reddy Vanga 2 – Liberals 0

      K Balakumar
      11h

      Why The Insidious Anti-Hindu Communalism Of Certain Directors Goes Scot-Free

      Anonymous Contributor
      16h

      Napoleon Film Review: Ridley Scott’s Waterloo

      Venu Gopal Narayanan
      17h
      States

      infrastructure


      Arun Kumar Das
      1

      Government Propels National Green Hydrogen Mission With Kochi Workshop

      2 Mins Read
      Arun Kumar Das
      2

      Railways Achieves 1015.6 Million Tonnes Freight Loading Between April-November 2023

      1 Mins Read
      V Bhagya Subhashini
      3

      Bengaluru Airport: BIAL Reveals Comprehensive Master Plan For T1 Upgrade And T3 Construction By 2030

      2 Mins Read
      Amit Mishra
      4

      Noida Proposes To Build 35 Km Elevated Road Along The Yamuna To Ease Travel To Greater Noida

      2 Mins Read