Atul Raina
The Corona virus crisis has impacted most global sectors tremendously. With increased home-working, fewer travel trips made, and supply chains disrupted, the impact on the environment has been visible across the world. The Judicial System has been at the center of a struggle between preserving its renowned traditional system, and mounting pressure for it to modernize.
The Corona virus lockdown is revealing deep income disparities in the legal profession. The lockdown also forced legal profession to adopt the strategy of ‘Work from Home’ and many advocates are facing difficulties to handle the technology due to less digital skills and non-availability of High Speed internet (i.e.4G) in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Corona Virus crisis poses huge challenges to Human Rights and Rule of Law. The pandemic affects lawyers in their daily professional activities which cause a great impact on the legal profession. The Corona Virus has exposed the digital divide in legal profession as some are happily working on Virtual Mode and some on the other hand are demanding resumption of physical working in the Courts. The Bar Council of India alleged that Legal Profession was gradually being attempted to be hijacked by a few lawyers and selected law firms having High Level Connections and if virtual court system was allowed to continue, more than 95 percent of advocates will become brief less.
Most lawyers especially the young lawyers who have just entered the world of Legal Profession are finding it difficult and are unable to present their cases effectively in the virtual mode. Most of lawyers in India practice in Sub-ordinate Courts and many not have electronic gadgets and in Jammu and Kashmir, they don’t have High Speed internet which is required to use virtual court system. The Courts do not have resources to conduct remote or virtual hearing widely. But with spiraling number of Cases in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, there is little chance of open court hearing starting any soon. This has come with a heavy price for junior lawyers who used to depend on everyday hearings for their income.
The legal profession is generally viewed as a financially rewarding career with many lawyers known to earn lakhs, even crores but most lawyers earn a modest income in the early days of their careers. There are a number of lawyers with 10 years of experience who are solely dependent on the regular income, though meager, income they can earn from appearing in different Courts and various tribunals as well as before the quasi-judicial authorities. A significant number of lawyers have no real savings to fall back on and with each passing day, their economic condition is deteriorating. The lack of cases are impacting the advocates professionally and economically.
That Government of Jammu and Kashmir granted Rs 1 Crore as a relief for advocates in distress and whose livelihoods have been hit by the Lockdown. That the advocates who fall under the criteria fixed by the authorities were paid a meager amount of Rupees 3000/- and many who were needy but didn’t fall under the criteria have got nothing. Many representations were filed by the advocates seeking financial assistance with the Government and many are requesting Bar Council of Union Territory to provide the financial assistance from the advocates Welfare Fund to Advocates but the Council still have to decide : Whether the Advocate Welfare Fund which is for the Welfare of Advocates should be utilized for advocates or not.
It has been six months that the Courts are working on virtual mode and some advocates who were living hand to mouth have been rendered without income.
(The author is Advocate High Court of J&K)
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