I started my independent practice as Lawyer since December 1979. In the last week of this month my friend and now my neighbour and well known Hindi lyric and poet Mahendra ‘Neh’ has lost his job. He was an Electrical Supervisor in a big rayon producing factory along with his companion a Turbine
Forman. Their termination was totally illegal and with out any genuine
cause. They had same popularity in the workers and the management due
to their hard work, commitment and behaviour. Only one thing was
against them that they always favour the
right things and in the recent past their moral support was with the
workers, when management declared a lock out to stop the production due
to less demands of the produce in the market. They
submitted their complaints against their illegal termination from the
employment before the state labour department. Management replied that
they are not ‘workman’ as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act, and
they have no right of protection for their jobs in the law, and the
management has right to dispensing with their employments with a notice
of one month or tendering one month salary in lieu of the notice. In
the mean time one more their companion supervisor came out of his job
in the same manner. To support his college’s case was his only crime.
He also submitted his complaint before state labour department.
Their cases had been referred to the Labour Court
in 1983. In their cases all evidences had been concluded in early 1996
and cases had been fixed for final arguments for judgment.
I
am the unfortunate lawyer of unfortunate cases of these unfortunate
persons. I argued fully their cases before the court more than ten
times. More than five judges has listened and fixed the cases for final
judgments at many times. Before pronouncing the judgments transfer
orders reached to the judge and the cases returned to the stage for
final arguments for judgment. Still these cases are in the wait for judgments. Now
it is 2008 and approximate twenty five years has been elapsed before
the primary court and there is no hope for judgments. Last judge
already has been transferred and now the court is without a judge. Some
time after the State Government will request to the state judicature,
to supply a judge on deputation, to be posted in this court. The
judicature already has less number of judges than sanctioned posts. It
will arrange a judge to leaving vacant a regular court and post to the Labour Court,
then government will publish a notification in the gazette for his
powers, and then the judge will start working of the court.
There
are more than 3500 cases pending before this Labour Court as in other
Labour Courts of the State and as there are no sufficient courts in the
country to hear the cases. As per norms there must be seven Labour
Courts for 3500 cases. After notification of powers the judge will
study the cases and will be able to hear them after two-three months.
First he will hear easy cases decidable with less labour and less use
of intelligence. Complicated cases will wait some time more. He will
start to hear them after some adjournments. Finally when the cases will
have been heard and fixed for judgements, then one day the postman
deliver the transfer order of the judge and cases will rest on waiting
shelf as these days. If
the cases of Mahendra and his companions reach in six or twelve months,
then these judgments will be from a primary court. Either party of the
case may go to the higher court and after judgments from this higher
court to a much higher court. As per present standards the cases may
reach finality in some twenty or thirty years. At that time the age of
Mahendra & his companions will be more than eighty years. It may
happen they will not be alive to see the execution of the judgments.
What is the way before these three and many other persons to get the
relief? In fact, there is no way to get the justice in the system. One
who knows the reality does not go to challenge illegal acts and
omissions before the court. And the number of these persons is
continuously increasing and cases coming to the courts are decreasing
in the numbers.
This
situation is dangerous for Indian Democracy and the System. Loosing
faith in the legal System is loosing faith in the system. It increases
anarchism in the country. To search the remedies out of the courts by
illegal means will be common thing in coming days. The governments,
parliament, politicians, thinkers and intellectuals must think about
the problem and take urgent steps at earliest; otherwise things will be
out of control.
Professionally
this situation is serving hardship before the Lawyers. There is lot of
legal work in the country but it is not coming to them. In the recent
past we saw many incidents of lawyer’s agitations for minor causes and
advocate strikes. These were the result of the frustration created by
the adverse effect on their profession created due to incompetence of
the judicature.
The
community of the advocates and the lawyers must awake immediately to
change the situation. The country is waiting for their positive role to
change the fate of the people of India.
