The difference between the arguments by self and the lier
I have pointed out in the foregoing paragraphs, certain benefits by arguing your own case. Besides there are other benefits listed out below together with the logic behind.
1. You: None other than you can present your case better than you. You can impress on the hearing judge the important facts in the most impressive way, so that near 100% of your case gets stuck up to the brain of the judge.
Lier: He cannot have learnt 100% of the details of your case by heart, and cannot recite them back in the court after months and years after he prepares your case in the first instance, amidst hundreds of other cases of other parties pleaded by him. He is a paid man and is not a committed man. Equally, the judicial officer cannot commit to his memory all that the lier pleads for orally. It is all due to the human nature that none can match the feelings of the victim or affected person to present other man’s case.
2. You : When you argue your case, there is fees for the lier and incidental expenses of walking to the residence or office of the lier.
Lier: You will be pestered by all sorts of fees for the clerk, typing, and in the name of bribery to the court clerk or the presiding officer, vehicle and eating expenses to the lier and his cohorts etc.
3. You: You cannot be purchased, since it is a question of your own prestige or finances.
Lier: He can be purchased by a more powerful and wealthier adversary. The betrayal of the lier is so dexterous that the person, suffering from poverty of law knowledge, cannot detect the subtle betrayal.
Again having known all your weaknesses, it is much more easier to betray you and he may pass on documents and facts in his possession to the other side, once he sells himself to the other side. I know instances wherein the original document, innocently passed on to the lier in trust, had been sold off to the other side or destroyed, and the rogue advocate swears that the document was never given to him. The client’s position becomes that of a farm slave.
4. You: You have no other problems other than your own case, and you would be regular in court attendance, and would never seek adjournments. You can go with your case despite liers’ boycott of the case. The Judges do not join the boycott, mind you. This is an occasion to plead your cause with very great detail in a free atmosphere, the other side having no lier and none to interrupt your arguments.
Lier: He is an overburdened man, with numerous cases with him, and many courts to attend, and seeking adjournments and absenting for years is most common. Further the lier may be on boycott most of the days, nowadays. His preference for attendance depends on the party pressing for early conduct of the case payment of installment fees.
5. You: You need not mince words and can argue your case mercilessly, irrespective of the party or lier on the other side. You may dare to antagonize even the presiding officer, if he is found on the wrong side.
Lier : Being dependant on the pleasure of the court in the long run, he will never antagonize the court, even if it is injurious to his client. He may likewise not be aggressive if the other side brings his own senior as lier, or if the side happens to be a powerful party, community wise or politically etc.
6. You: It is a question of life and death for you and hence every ounce of energy will be spent by you to win the case.
Lier: He has no such compulsion. Victory or losses are both the same for him, and he does not lose a pie if the case is lost, and on the other hand, he gains by way of appeal fees.
It is 14 years since I took to researching into the judicial processes and law. I stand by my statements. If anybody challenges my averments, first published 9 years ago, and comes out with any minus points in my arguments, I am ready to take it and either reply or mend my views and publish in the revised edition.
What is Professional Ethics?
All professions are not really professions. They were at first a service, and later on in the course of time they became money minting businesses. When service is converted into business, the general publics are sure to suffer losses. This is what is happening in real life. I see it practically after having put this very fact in book form 5 years ago.
When a business is conducted in a fair way, it is business or industry, and when it is misused for profiteering at the cost of the public, it becomes a Service Deficiency or Unfair Trade Practice as per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. As per this Act, the advocate is a service provider and the client engaging him is a consumer.
The service providing advocate should do so efficiently do his duty with utmost efficiency and ensure the victory of the client’s claim. The British advocates do so, or forego their fees! I know a fantastic incident of an Indian in India, a first cousin of mine by name B. Madan Mohan, who had failed to get a student visa, and his appeal to the government also failed. In the Govt. order, the British Govt. indicated that he was free to appeal to court against its order giving the address etc. details of the appellate authority.
The student’s agent filed the case, paying an advance. The appeal won and compensation was also ordered, all within the stipulated time, most importantly. The most surprising thing is that the advocates in UK return the fees, if they fail in their client’s case! Can you imagine such a thing in India? They wouldn’t show even a concession in the agreed fees if the case is decided against.
The Indian lawyers, who pride on the British legal traditions, quietly skulk away when it comes to their fees! I want my people’s govt. to codify this tradition compelling the advocacy to follow the British Bar’s prevailing practice. Until then, I contend that we can approach the Consumer Grievances Redressal Fora for a return of fees in failed cases on the basis of deficiency of service.
Even if the case is won by the services of an advocate, the duty of the lawyer does not end there. In case there came to light during the trial any fraud or false foisting of case, it is the duty of the advocate to pursue it, enlighten his client of his right to sue or prosecute the opponent for indulging in unfair and illegal act, thereby affecting the judicial system itself.
Parliament & Newspapers – In the vision of Mahatma Gandhi
Reader : Then from your statement I deduce that the Government of England is not desirable and not worth copying by us.
Editor : Your deduction is justified.The condition of England at present is pitiable. I pray to God that India may never be in that plight. That which you consider to be the Mother of Parliaments is like a sterile woman and a prostitute. Both these are harsh terms, but exactly fit the case. That Parliament has not yet, of its own accord, done a single good thing. Hence I have compared it to a sterile woman. The natural condition of that Parliament is such that, without outside presure, it can do nothing.
It is like a prostitute because it is under the control of ministers who change from time to time. Today it is under Mr. Asquith, tomorrow it may be under Mr. Balfour.
Reader : You have said this sarcastically. The term “sterile woman” is not applicable. The Parliament, being elected by the people, must work under public pressure. This is its quality.
Editor : You are mistaken. Let us examine it a little more closely. The best men are supposed to be elected by the people. The members serve without pay and therefore, it must be assumed, only for the public weal. The electors are considered to be educated and therefore we should assume that they would not generally make mistakes in their choice. Such a Parliament should not need the spur of petitions or any other pressure. Its work should be so smooth that its effects would be more apparent day by day.
But, as a matter of fact, it is generally acknowledged that the members are hypocritical and selfish. Each thinks of his own little interest. It is fear that is the guiding motive. What is done today may be undone tomorrow. It is not possible to recall a single instance in which finality can be predicted for its work.
When the greatest questions are debated, its members have been seen to stretch themselves and to doze. Sometimes the members talk away until the listeners are disgusted. Carlyle has called it the “talking shop of the world”. Members vote for their party without a thought. Their so-called discipline binds them to it. If any member, by way of exception, gives an independent vote, he is considered a renegade.
If the money and the time wasted by Parliament were entrusted to a few good men, the English nation would be occupying today a much higher platform. Parliament is simply a costly toy of the nation.
These views are by no means peculiar to me. Some great English thinkers have expressed them. One of the members of that Parliament recently said that a true Christian could not become a member of it. Another said that it was a baby. And if it has remained a baby after an existence of seven hundred years, when will it outgrow its babyhood?
Reader : You have set me thinking; you do not expect me to accept at once all you say. You give me entirely novel views. T shall have to digest them. Will you now explain the epithet “prostitute”?
Editor : That you cannot accept my views at once is only right. If you will read the literature on this subject, you will have some idea of it. Parliament is without a real master. Under the Prime Minister, its movement is not steady but it is buffeted about like a prostitute.
The Prime Minister is more concerned about his power than about the welfare of Parliament. His energy is concentrated upon securing the success of his party. His care is not always that Parliament shall do right. Prime Ministers are known to have made Parliament do things merely for party advantage. All this is worth thinking over.
Reader : Then you are really attacking the very men whom we have hitherto considered to be patriotic and honest?
Editor : Yes, that is true; I can have nothing against Prime Ministers, but what I have seen leads me to think that’ they cannot be considered really patriotic. If they are to be considered honest because they do not take what are generally known as bribes, let them be so considered, but they are open to subtler influences.
In order to gain their ends, they certainly bribe people with honours. I do not hesitate to say that they have neither real honesty nor a living conscience.
Reader : As you express these views about Parliament, I would like to hear you on the English people, so that I may have your view of their Government.
Editor : To the English voters their newspaper is their Bible. They take their cue from their newspapers which are often dishonest. The same fact is differently interpreted by different newspapers, according to the party in whose interests they are edited. One newspaper would consider a great Englishman to be a paragon of honesty, another would consider him dishonest. What must be the condition of the people whose- newspapers are of this type?
Reader : You shall describe it.
Editor : These people change their views frequently. It is said that they change them every seven years. These views swing like the pendulum of a clock and are never steadfast. The people would follow a powerful orator or a man who gives them parties, receptions, etc. As are the people, so is their Parliament. They have certainly one quality very strongly developed. They will never allow their country to be lost. If any person were to cast an evil eye on it, they would pluck out his eyes. But that does not mean that the nation possesses every other virtue or that it should be imitated.
If India copies England, it is my firm conviction that she will be ruined.
From Indian Home Rule By : M. K. Gandhi “THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND”
இதன் சுருக்கமான தமிழாக்கத்தை இங்கு சொடுக்கினால்படிக்கலாம்.
Who can best understand your problem?
Any work should have a defined objective. I have not found such a thing stated explicitly elsewhere. There cannot be any controversy at any time over the objective of this book that none can plead one’s cause better than the person concerned.
When a case is based on civil rights accruing out of documentary evidence, one can state the legal position and argue. But, in the criminal cases, one has to normally confine himself to the documents and witnesses produced by the prosecution led by the police.
If any case has been falsely foisted, one has to cull out the truths by one’s own painstaking efforts and a sort of thorough personal investigation. None else can do this job better than the affected person.
Normally no advocate does this job or gets this done by the clients. On the other hand, led by laziness or lack of time, they fabricate all sorts of false defences as they feel fit, and finally it ends up against the interest of the client.
There are other advocates who rely more on the blunders committed by the police or the weaknesses of the prosecution. The case obviously goes against the victim.
In this regard, I shall quote two of the thrilling incidents where I conducted thorough investigation and collected irrefutable documentary evidence in one of my cases, and in another case pertaining to another innocent person, confined inside under the Gondas Act.
In my case in the Madras IInd Addl. Labour Court in C.P.51/2000, the witness on the other side was a false witness, who happened to be my own higher officer, about whom I knew from top to bottom.
But the defendant’s advocate had no proper knowledge of the fabricated witness. When the man, one Rama-krishna Rao, was in the box, I led him down the line, and tore the mask off.
“Have you gone through all the documents in this case?” – Balaw.“Yes, yes!”—Rao.“Am I correct if I say that the documents are both in English and Tamil?”—Balaw.“Yes. You are correct.”- Rao.“I put it to you that you know only to speak Tamil, but can neither read nor write it.” – Balaw.The man said yes.
At this the judge was flabbergasted. He was angry and shouted at the man and asked whether he really did not know to read and write Tamil. The man replied affirmatively. With that the case of the defendant was irretrievably damaged, and the lawyer begged of the court to examine yet another witness.
The Judge curtly turned it down, since the first witness, Mr.Rao, had filed an affidavit that he knew every bit of details of this case. The advocate, knowing that the backbone of his case had been broken, started playing delaying tactics and has gone for appeal over this matter.
This instance demonstrates the poor quality of the advocacy. That is the reason why I advocate that the citizen himself pleads his own cause.
In the other case, an ex-convict, one “Satta(law)” Govindan, who had been convicted on his admission in a theft case, was picked up and a series of undetectable cases were foisted against him to demonstrate that the police are so extraordinarily efficient to detect every case registered. They went to the extent of slapping the Goondas Act against him, so that he cannot come out on bail, and has no recourse to proper defence.
His pathetic case came to my attention. He is known to me as one of readers, who wanted to escape the harassment of the police. I was convinced that the cases were foisted, when. I went through the copies of documents supplied to him as an accused. I was surprised to find the same witnesses cited in the alternate cases, and the persons cited as living in different places.
I physically verified the presence or absence of the witnesses at the above places, but found the addresses to be bogus, and even non existent addresses had been given. To prove the above fact, I wanted to get written documentary proof so that it would be one stroke victory against the fabrications of the policemen.
I simply wrote post cards to the addresses of the bogus witnesses. I was thrilled to receive the letters returned with the endorsement of the postmen that no such address existed, or no such person was there in the address concerned. I coolly made the innocent man to file those letters after cross examining the witnesses in the box.
This knocked the bottom of all the 11 cases, and the man gained his freedom. I am sure that the police were condemned with severe strictures in the judgement. Thereafter the police dare not approach him and he leads a peaceful life as an auto driver.
Had I not intervened, and had an advocate conducted the case, he would never think on these lines of gathering unimpeachable evidence against a false witness. He and his ilk, would confine themselves to putting all sorts of possible cross examination questions, and on the denial of the witness of all these suggestions, they would be content with suggesting that they were uttering falsehood only to support a false case.
It is funny and waste of court’s and everybody’s time. No witness goes to court to admit that he was lying. No earthly use by this sort of vain exercise. The tiger chases a stag for a mere lunch, whereas the stag runs for its very life in this birth.
An advocate conducts the case for his dinner, whereas it is a question of life and death for a client. Hence, the affected litigants should be as anxious and careful as the stag to save their skin by knowing law thoroughly and conducting the case themselves.
Advocate Profession by Mahatma Gandhi
No mantra is greater than the word of the Father!
How Gandhi Discharged his duties as an advocate for 22 years!
When we go with truth, the law automatically helps us!
Hence, I have not adopted false claims throughout my profession.
Hence, only just and truthful cases came to me! Those with concocted cases avoided me.
Hence, my profession became much more easier. My standing among the lawyers went up.
The real duty of an ideal advocate would be to make a friendly approach to both the feuding parties and help them settle their disputes amicably without future heart burn.
I was carrying on only with this duty. This ends in victory to both the warring sides, and adds lustre to the profession of advocates. By this no harm to the advocates, and it is good for them.
I never took more fees than what was required for the expenses of the case. I took as my fees only that amount recorded by the judges while they deliver their judgement.
I used to return the fees in case I was for some reason or other not able to carry on with the case. I never decided the quantum of fees based on winning or losing a case.
Yet, I found my profession going much better than I expected, with sufficient income. The large hearted public used to dub my income making profession as a “service”.
I never even once failed to get the rightful justice and punishment due to the party engaging me.
One should be ashamed of committing a crime, and not in going to jail being punished for the crime. Hence it is not unjust to get your own client punished. It is quite just!
You should similarly be prepared even to go to prison in defence of your right. I have spent years in jail in defence of rights.
I do not know much about laws. I was fairly well versed in the Evidence Act.
I never pretended to know every branch of law, and I never misled the clients and offered to conduct cases in unknown fields.
Yet if the clients insisted on me doing the case, I used to consult the senior lawyers, and took the senior consultation fees, and then conducted their cases.
I used to conserve my talents and energies for battling in vital matters. I used to conduct cases of the public, and never conducted my own case.
At one point of time, I was handling 70 cases, of which only one did not succeed.
Truth may be soft as a flower, but it can prove to be hard as a rock. Uncritical and half baked words never escaped my tongue or pen.
The above views of MK Gandhi were culled out the from his Autobiography by Mr.Warrant Balaw.
Advocates & Judges Profession
Advocates – In the vision of Mahatma Gandhi
The profession of lawyers teaches immorality. The men take up that profession not in order to help others out of their miseries but to enrich them.
It is within my knowledge that the lawyers are glad when men have disputes. Some families have been ruined by them; they have made brothers enemies.
Lawyers are men who have little to do. Lazy people, in order to indulge in luxuries take up such professions.
They put on so much side that poor people almost consider them to be heaven-born. They become more unmanly and cowardly when they resorted to the courts of law.
It is wrong to consider that courts are established for the benefit of the people. If people were to settle their own quarrels, a third-party would not be able to exercise any authority over them. The parties alone know who is right. Surely the decision of a third-party is not always right.
It is the lawyers who have discovered that theirs is an honourable profession. They frame laws as they frame their own praises. They decide what fees they will charge.
My firm opinion is that the lawyers have enslaved India and have confirmed English authority. If pleaders were to abandon their profession, and consider it just as degrading as prostitution, English rule would break up in a day.
Judges – In the vision of Mahatma Gandhi
What I have said with reference to pleaders necessarily applies to the judges; they are first cousins; and the ones give strength to the other.How the pleaders were made in the first instance and how they were favoured you should understand well. Then you will have the same abhorrence for the profession that I have.
This is a true statement; any other argument is mere pretension.
Mr.M.K. Gandhi has written much more elaborately about the profession of advocates of India of his time. We have extracted only the most important points. The above views of MK Gandhi were culled out by Warrant Balaw Researcher in Law, Writer, Critic.
Source from Mahatma Gandhi’s first and logical book ‘Indian Home Rule’ written by him at the age of forty in 1909 under title‘The condition of India (continued) Lawyers’ from the English version of the said book published by Navajeevan Publishing House, Ahmedabad pincode – 380 041. Telephone No: +91-79-2754132, Website: www.navajivantrust.org
Treatise – In Quest of Justice…
No law, no life. Know law, know life!
So long as we live, we always abide by the laws. That helps us to remain free men. Otherwise we would have been in the prisons!
Though we live by the norms of law, we happen to live without knowing the provisions of law. Hence, we get into problems without knowing our rights and duties, and live miserable lives instead of happy lives.
How come we have been pushed into this state? The reason is that neither we nor our Government have cared about the legal awareness. The reason is that we started believing in such propaganda as “The laws remain in the dark room. Only the arguments of the advocates throw the light”, propagated by a great Tamil political leader, a pundit in politics, but not in law. In reality the arguments of the advocates not not enlightening, but instead torturing.
Annadurai’s mentor, Periar (Mahatma) EVRamasamy, has said as follows in the weekly Organ of the Davidian Movement, which he founded, “Kudiarasu or People’s Rule” dated 10.05.1931:
“Today’s functioning of the system of advocacy, is diametrically opposed to the morality of mankind, reliabilty, social peace, and the progress of the concerned country. Besides, the advocates are the root cause of the rotting of the nation’s morality, reliablity, and self respect. It is not an exaggeration to say these bitter things.” Pl click here to more details.
Periar EVR’s mentor, Mahatma (Periar in Tamil) Karam Chand Gandhiji (Gandhiar in Tamil), himself London a educated Lawyer, has caustically commented about the profession of advocacy in his first book, the only book of general philosophy as recorded by him in the book itself.
“The Hindu Home Rule” otherwise known as “Indian Swaraj”, published in 1909, his fourtieth year. Mind you, by “Hindu” he did not mean the Hindu religious sect; he meant like all others, for over 20 plus centuries from Greeks onwards, as people living in Hindustan, that is, the united India including the present day Pakistan and Bangaladesh. In the 11th article, his observations about the lawyers of India of his time are as follows:
“The profession of Lawyers teaches immorality. The men take up the profession not in order to help others out of their miseries but to enrich themselves.“It is within my knowledge that the lawyers are glad when men have disputes.Some families have been ruined by them; they have made brothers enemies. Lawyers are men who have little to do. Lazy people, in order to indulge in luxuries, take up such professions. They put on so much show that poor people almost consider them to be heaven born.“They (the common people) become more unmanly and cowardly when they resort to courts of law. It is wrong to consider that courts are established for the benefit of the people. If people were to settle their own quarrels, a third party would not be able to exercise any authority over them. The parties alone know who is right. Surely the decision of the third party is not always right.“It is the lawyers who have discovered that their is an honourable profession. They frame laws as they frame their own priases. They decide what fees they will charge. My firm opinion is that the lawyers have enslaved India and have confirmed the English authority. If pleaders were to abandon their profession and consider it just as degrading as prostitution, English rule break up in a day.“What I have said with reference to pleaders necessarily applies to the judges; they are the first cousins and the ones to give strength to the others.“How the pleaders were made in the first instance and how they were favoured, you should understand well. Then you will have the same abhorrence for the profession that I have.“This a true statement; any other argument is mere pretension.”
Mr.M.K. Gandhi has written much more elaborately about the profession of advocates of India of his time. We have extracted only the most important points.
Hence, please dont insult Annadurai and yourself by quoting his “dark chamber” story.
You should know that way back in 1867 itself, in the Das Kapital, it was held by Karl Marx to the effect that “when evidence is balanced between a haggard looking poor man and a pot bellied rich man, the judge institively favours the later.”
This is true even today, when the rich and the powerful, accused of swindling thousands of crores of rupees from the people’s taxes, get no case against them, and even if cases are registered, get bail in no time, or even in advance, and drag on the cases till their death and avoid jail, whereas the poor like a small pick-pocket spend several years in jail, as an under-trial. There are plenty of such instances in India and in Tamilnadu itself. To quote them will be embarassing and controversial.
While facts are so, what is the altenative?
It is unavoidable to live without courts and laws. But, you need not depend on courts or go to courts, if know to live within the boundaries of law. To know what is necessary to live within boundaries of law, you require the knowledge of the five fundamental laws like the world being made up of the five elements and five senses of nature.
If someone follows the laws, and gets into loss, the “laws”cannot be called so, and instead can be called “loss”. Why do we require the laws that would put us into loss?
In 1999, there was a number of problems in the COMPACT ELECTRIC Ltd., a non pharma industry, owned by the well known Pharmaceutical giant, Dr.Reddies of Andhra Pradesh, in which I happened to work then. Before that I had woked as a welder in “Balmar Lawrie”, manufacturers of freight containers at Chennai. It was a central public sector undertaking with South Korean collaboration.
Once, one of my team mate worker was found not doing his job sincerely, he was taken to the underground section, where his feet were crushed under the boot of the sole South Korean supervisor on behalf of his company. I was fed up and quit it and joined the Compact Electric Ltd.
The second company shamelessly exhibited linguistic, communal bias towards workers. It paid highest to the Hindi speaking workers, next to the Telugus, then the Malayalees, and lastly Tamils.
This action of the company is against The Indian Constitution, and the “Equal Remuneration Act, 1976”, in particular. I felt offended and felt like challenging the practice, and started learning law, after a senior lawyer, a Telugu by descent, first could not believe my statement, but when shown the payment bills, he wanted me to pursue the matter against the unruly management.
The lawyer deputed his junior to handle my matter, but the junior was worse than me in Labour law knowledge. During one of the hearings, the lawyer was absent, and I handled my case myself and presented a petition, raising a legal point.
The Presiding Officer (Labour Judge) asked me whether there was provision in law to present such a demand. I backed up my petition with the relevant labour law from the book that I carried to court, and handed the book to the judge. He read it and accepted my point. Obviously he did not know this law until then.
I want to tell the reader that I consulted a number of legal personalities and consumer activists etc. and each person was giving his own version of law, and none gave the correct legal position.
I felt all the problems arose when laws were broken. But, I knew none of the laws. Hence, I went for reading the law for myself. I had to go through many law books in the libraries. Even then, I was blind asto under which law and from forum to get justice.
I started roaming around from place to place to meet the well informed persons in society to get my doubts cleared. My confusion was confounded and I did not get the required clarification. I found that they were not that informed enough to clarify all my doubts.
I continued my thirst for proper solution. One day, while getting home by train, I incidentally happened to read the book, “You too can plead your case yourself in the court” published authored by one Mr.Senthamil-k-Kizhaar of Aruppu-k-kottai. The tiled implied that you can argue your own case without the assistance of an advocate. It said so in so many words also.
It was then, that I was reminded of having read the same book two years earlier in the Madras Connemara Library. Though I went through it, on both the occasions, I couldn’t fully grasp the philosophy behind it, its full meaning, the aim, and the benefit accruing therefrom, because the book did not specifically instruct on these points.
Whatever it be, I felt thrilled that I had at last found the guru that I wanted to meet. I met him and was disappointed badly when he called my problem unjust and simply refused to guide me in a practical way.
This led me to a new enlightenment.
On the one hand, there were ill informed persons pretending to be well informed, and on the other side, really well informed persons, who sit in judgment over my problems, and refuse to guide. I don’t find fault with this state of affairs. Each takes a stand from his own point of view. That is all!
It drove me to resolve firmly that I would myself master the knowledge, and would guide others, rather than being guided. I am not exaggerating when I say that the result was, my present status. So I request all of you to follow your own way of mastering any subject.
I firmly believe that you require 5 treatises (research books), like the five senses of the human beings, to fully comprehend and self defend / prosecute to attain our rights and to do our duties in legal fora, right from local self govt. officers to the Supreme Court of India.
Out of the five necessary books , all the five are already in print form in my mother tongue, Tamil–all of them published with the financial help of the Central Law Ministry. Click here to books details
Ninety % of the people think that they alone are facing problems. If they take some interest in the common good, they can better face their own problems much more easily, and the general legal awareness would build up. This I have found out of my own experience.
The CARE Society is an example of the build up of good people coming together for a noble purpose of educating the public on legal awareness. They have belied the proverb that only those in distress will know the depth of it. All the members of this society are workers in the private industries and earn thousands a month.
Though they are relatively free from economic sufferings, they have taken upon themselves the duty of educating the general public who need legal awareness help. If all of you, the readers, similarly take a vow to help the society and play your part in the spread of legal awareness, you can do a lot to the society, help the creation of problem free society.
I would proclaim “Be not afraid of the problems. Let the problems flee from you out of fear.” I am a freeman on date, walking even to the law courts, though there are three non-bailable warrants against me, to my knowledge!
The reason for the present deplorable state of affairs in the judicial fora is due to the lack of this awareness. The other reason for acquisition of legal awareness is the quality of the advocacy of third or fourth degree, the best elements getting away to medicine, information technology, and other Engineering and other professional courses, including teaching.
The horrible thing is that many advocates now in courts have got their degrees by several attempts. During my last ten years of study, I find nearly half of the advocates carry criminal cases on their heads! In fact criminals constitute 60 % of the advocacy. They take up law with a view to hide their criminal activities under their black cloaks. They hope to get protection from punishment for their crimes from the black coated cousins on the dais of the court.
The glaring examples are the law college students’ attack against another set of students and the police, and High CourtAdvocates setting fire to police station of the Madras High Courtright in the glaring light in the presence of the cameras seen all over the country and world.
The poor stuff, and criminal elements as pointed above, unable to find any other job, end up as lawyers. The fact is that they get themselves appointed as judicial officers also from the local to the Highest Court of our Mother land.
This state of affairs should change. After all, essentially what is fairness, is law. One need not know law to deliver fair judgement. One needs to be fair, and not necessarily a law educated, to be a fair Judge. This is what human society expects of the judicial system.
Yet we require to regulate admission into law colleges, as they are supposed to understand and guide people as lawyers and deliver judgements according to the law.
How am at Liberty though under Warrant of Arrest?!
When you come to face problems, any of you readers, living in freedom, have any number of sources to help you, say–friends, ministers, advocates, policemen, and even judges. But, those really caught in problems, may be in prisons. Only to suppress people and their agitations, the jails are used, said Karl Marx, 164 years ago.
Gandhi and Marx are lawyers by profession and education, but EVR Periyar was not aware that being in jail with legal awareness, is of great strength to fellow prisoners, ignorant of their legal rights and lacking in legal guidance to enjoy the human rights that they are entitled to. Even the jailors respected me and sought legal advice from me, a mere prisoner.
And the jailors scrutinised my critical letters written from jail and addressed to the Judicial Officers, based on news paper reports, as to how the concerned judicial officer had committed wrongs by his wrong order or judgement.
Besides, they used to read the letters/petitions of co-prisoners, drafted on my advice, and sent to courts. I used to quote the relevant legal provisions to prove my points. The jailors started developing great respect for me, and praised me saying that though the judiciary committed mistakes, they (the jail officials) were not exactly aware of how they were committing mistakes.
But they (prisoners’ welfare officials) found me a bad guy, spoiling the bribes coming to them in drafting the remission praying letters, as the prisoners learnt from me as to how to write for remission, and did not depend on the officials!
The jail officials used to beg me to get out of the jail on bail, so that they could carry on their zulum (jungle rule) in the absence of a guide like me guiding the other prisoners against the jail officials. The undertrials dont draw the sympathy of others, but the convicts, particularly the poor, get the sympathy of the lower jail officials or fellow prisoners, and they used to tell the men to approach me asto what went wrong with the court order, and how to get out on appeal!
The Jail Officials started praying to the Lord Almighty as to how to send me out of the prison early! They were frightened also about the possibility of my writing against the particular misdeeds of the particular named officials, once out of the jail, in the light of the fact that I was directly caustic even against the particular judicial officers in order to help the co-prisoners!
The law knowing person can prove to be more powerful and trouble making inside the prison than when out of it, against the misdeeds of the officialdom! Freedom fighters were frightening to the judges of the British rule, since most of the leaders like Nehru, Gandhi, Tilak, Dadabai Navroji, Vallahb Bhai Patel, Md. Ali Jinnah, Beema Rao Ambedkar etc. etc.
It is these men with legal knowledge, who made history during the freedom fight and find place in history because of their daring confrontation with British officials, then ruling India, and thereby got immensely popular all over India or at least in their home provinces!
Only by spending stupendous money and effort, they went to England to learn the best laws, and once educated they could play big roles in national affairs against the English who taught them laws. Whereas, against the present day misbehaving native masters, you can learn law sitting in court or even in jail, and you require no law degree to practice law even in courts.
Even in free India, ruled by elected natives, with the continuing fundamental laws of Punishment (Indian Penal Code), Procedure (Criminal Producture Code & Civil Producture Code), Law of Evidence (Indian Evidence Act) laws made by the foreigner, and the newly made Indian Constitution embodying all the leading principles of justice all over the world, you do require the law knowledge to guard and protect your fundamental rights. The 5 major Acts quoted in the beginning are recollected in the above sentence.
The above five laws form the base for all other laws.
In our nation, there is none who knows all these 5 major and fundamental laws. There are no Judicial Officers and empowered Govt. Servants from village to Capital City(namely village Munsiff to the Cabinet Secretary of the Central Govt., Delhi, and the Chief Justice of India), who know all these laws simultaneously.
These necessarily apply to me also. But, I can analyse and find fault with their errors or illegal acts, violating fundamendal laws.
For more details, kindly follow the separate article, “Is the President of India a mere Rubber stamp?”.
The advantages of knowing law!
Once you know the law, normally, none will dare to trouble you using legal instruments by foisting false charges, themselves or using the state apparatus. Many without legal knowledge as armour, drop out of social service, when diverted by a foisted charge.
Even if they do, you can explain the consequences and put them out of action, and also defend yourself. You will also know the consequences of transgressing the law, and would refrain from breaking the law. Hence everybody shall know law in the interest of common societal good.
The kith and kin, when in trouble, will stand to benefit from your legal knowledge, and they would be spared both money and mental agony and Loss your life. Your children and the near ones (relatives) will easily pick up the legal knowledge.
The other use will be to convince the guilty of the wisdom of admitting the offence and plead for mercy and lighter sentence or even a pardon or release. One can enlighten the falsely accused person and help him get an acquittal and also compensation from the false accuser and the corrupt official who did not investigate properly and was a party to the crime of false case booking. One can also get them prosecuted for the abuse of the process of law and subversion the courts.
For 15 months’ I had to wage a legal war to arrest me on a pending warrant, which was issued at the first instance not based on facts or law, but on irritation and and a personal vengeance for teaching law to a Judicial Magistrate.
I instigated one of my admirers / readers to write to the said Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Madras City, that Warrant Balaw was living with him, and that a warrant of arrest issued by the Special Metropolitan Magistrate in charge of the Central Railway Court, and that as a law abiding citizen interested in maintaining the dignity of law, he wanted to arrest Warrant me if only he issued a warrant under Sec.73 Cr.P.C.
Once, this was filed, the CMM had the matter enquired unobstusively, and shouted at the Magistrate who had issued the warrant, and Mrs.Makku Mangalam (the said Magistrate, a lady) felt ashamed and asked the railway police to arrest me and produce, comed what may.
I was happy that I was arrested and sent to the Central Prison of Madras, where I spent 87 days and experienced, first hand, the jail life and all that was happening inside. I also took classes for the co-prisoners, as well as learnt a lot from them, about all the atrocities being committed against them by all sections of people-from the prosecuting policemen and other department officials, the advocates-both govt. and private- and their clerks, the judicial officers and clerks and even peons in the court, the escorting policemen, and the jail officials.
I also learnt of the arts used by the actual criminals-such as picket pockets, vendors of narcotic drugs, national and international currency printers etc.!
It was a life time experience for me..!!
Among the inmates in the prison house, at the initial stage, the remand prisoners didn’t respond to my attempt to teach them the nuances of the law, since most of them had lawyers (liars), to care for them from outside.
Whereas the convicted prisoners had to spend their period of conviction with great grief, and when they learnt from me that the advocates had not put up proper defence to get them out as innocents, they were too eager to learn the legal processes.
They used to feel that they could themselves have pleaded the case instead of with the aid of an ill-informed advocate, and could have got an acquittal, or at best could have been happier that they at least avoided the burdensome fees to the advocate, which would have helped the wives and children back at home.
I know many, who argued their own cases to victory and freedom.
After their release, I know some had even prosecuted the officials for malicious prosecution, but in vain. I have recorded the above facts as well as the philosophy behind the work, the need to know law, and the advantage of self pleading one’s own case in the books mentioned above.
A variety of journalists in Thamizh Naadu, with different backgrounds and ideologies, have reviewed these books in Thamizh, and they have come out with their own admiring commentaries. Their reviews had infused a new confidence and enthusiasm in me. By way of expressing my gratitude to them, I have reproduced their words of appreciation in the initial pages of these books.
It is an innovative effort with a difference. I believe that these reviews will help you, the readers, to readily estimate the importance and value of these treatises, the fruit of my ten years’ sustained work.
I do trust that every Indian citizen and media would consider it their social obligation to see that the message of the book reaches the Indian people.
This translation into English commonly known all over India, was done by my friend, Mr.V.S.Karuppannan, a retired Additional Supt. of Police, and a veteran translator, who has already translated many novels and short stories including that ofMr.M.Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Thamizh Naadu.
All those who want to have these books translated into their own mother tongues, inside or outside of India, they are welcome. I don’t claim any copy right to these books. I have openly put it out in the book itself.
No need to take my permission or concurrence to reprint even my Thamizh version, or this English version and sell it in the open market. Even the price of the book is upto them to fix.
I expect every reader to fearlessly pass on their comments so that the feedback helps me to enrich the work in future editions.
The Hare may win or the tortoise!
Rare is when idleness will win!
Rare is when idleness will win!
No law, no life!
Know law, know life!
Know law, know life!
Therefore I appeal to you to labour hard and learn the laws and understand the life, so that you will be in a position to help yourself as also Mother India.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Yours sincerely,
Warrant Balaw
Researcher in law
& In the service of Legal Awakening Mission!
Researcher in law
& In the service of Legal Awakening Mission!
The CARE Society
The majority of our population drag on their lives without any set goal or aim. We were unable to digest this bitter reality. Hence, we wanted to do something to help the society. We formed a Consumer Protection Organisation on 15.8.1998, and called it Consumer Awareness and Rural Education Society.
We got the acquaintance of Mr.Warrant Balaw, Researcher in law and Mr.Senthamil-k-kizhaar around 2001, until which we were in the dark as to how to go about achieving our goals of fighting corruption and all transgressions of law.
Our bold activities have been prompted by the proper legal awareness. We felt that the enlightenment, attained by us from this legal awareness, should be passed on to the rest of India through this website www.neethiyaithedy.org created by all three of us, ie, the Care Society, Mr.Senthamizh Kizhar, and Mr.Warrant Balaw.
Our demands were:
- The Govt. of India should make the legal education a basic and mandatory one.
- The concerned state governments should have the laws translated into the vernacular languages and published.
- The local language should be made the court language of the concerned state upto the level of the High Court, to enable even the laymen to plead their own cause before all these fora.
In 2005, we parted company with Mr. Senthamizh Kizhar, as he started acting erratically, and was doing arbitrations, claiming to be a Special Judge, and eventually, landed himself in jail, being booked for false personation in the year 2010.
Hence Mr.Warrant Balaw research work was continued without the association of Mr.Senthamizh Kizhar.
We felt thrilled when Mr.Warrant Balaw’s proposed idea of mandatory law education even at the basic education level itself, before the end of 2010–enunciated by him as early as 2000–was adopted, though belatedly and independant of our proposal, in 2009 without fixing a time limit, by the Central Human Resource Development Ministry headed by the redoubtable Mr.Kapil Sibal, a former Supreme Court lawyer, and his Ministry proposed to implement it for the sake of human resources development in India!
But, unfortunately, the legal fraternity, motivated by its usurious instincts, is bitterly opposing this very move, and it goes to the extent of opposing even the Village Courts (Gramin Niyayalayas). To confirm the above statement against the advocate franternityyou may vide the video clipping by clicking here.
We insist that the unfair agitation by the advocates should be brushed aside, and the sane, school level legal education programme-should be implemented without any further delay.
The Govt. of India is undecided about its own decision, and has not gone for implementing it. But, we have not stopped our movement, and continue our campaign for spread of legal awareness and awakening. The advocates, could have have prevailed over the Ministry, made up of mostly by advocates, but they cannot prevent us from carrying on our own campaign.
Though the Govt. failed to implement its decision to create law awareness even at school level, we, as an NGO have completed our task of researching and guiding the ordinary people asto what their duties are and how to carry on their fight for all their legal rights without depending on the generally usurious lawyer franternity.
We published 5 volumes of the legal knowledge books, first, in Tamil, our state language, and have also got the books translated into English, the language, that is truly linking all the peoples of India.
The socalled Rashtra Bhasha (National Language) Hindi links only Hindi states, and not the nation. The ordinary people in every state in India know only their mother tongue, and not English, and also not Hindi in non Hindi states. Hence any knowledge to percolate to majority population has to be in the local state language.
We appeal to all public spirited Indians in India or abroad, and the NGOs of India to get the books translated in the languages of the states, whose folk they choose to help.
Though there are private law books in the vernacular languages, they are generally clumsily translated, and do not convey the proper meaning contained in the English text of the Law. The reason is that the translator, generally lawyers, are poor in the nuances of the state lanugages, and also their understanding of the depth of the law is very shallow.
They are in such artificial language as not to be understood by the common people. Further the individuals affected by legal problems cannot read all the law books, the Constitution of India, the Procedure codes-both Criminal and Civil, the Evidence Act, and the thousands of penal laws, including the Indian Penal Code.
In this series of 5 books, Mr.Warrant Ba-Law has rendered these legal concepts in plain popular language, very easily understandable to the public at large. Even the average educated person can grasp the ideas in these books and can guide total illiterates also.
We look at him as a researcher in practical law from different angles. Unlike others, who try to patent right their mere translations of laws, Mr.Warrant Balaw welcomes anybody to use his research findings as public property without claiming any private right to them.
His books in Tamil published with financial assistance of the Govt. of India (Law Ministry), proclaim that no right is reserved by the author or publishers and anybody on earth was welcome to reproduce it or translate and publish it.
He also has surprisingly found out that it was easier to get information from the Judiciary as well as all Govt. offices, that too as certified copies, free of cost, under section 74,76 & 77 of the Indian Evidence Act,1872. Though it is in the law book, others have not popularly practiced it.
He has established this by himself getting such information. Some of those whose attention was drawn to this law, have similarly done this due to their unique capabilities.
Once you are law knowing, the unjust orders, statutory rules or even laws can be got quashed by an individual approaching the appropriate court. An affected individual can also go to court and plead for a vacuum in law to be filled up, and succeed in that.
Many a problem can easily be solved by the affected citizen sending a legal notice to the proper authorities. For example, the Govt. of Thamizh Naadu had imposed an unreasonable amount of Rs.50/- as application fees on a petition for infor mation under the Right To Information Act, 2005, whereas the Central Govt. itself required just Rs.10/- as fees.
When, legislating on matters in the concurrent list, the state legislatures cannot build in provisions repugnant to the provisions in the existing or newly made Central laws, unless a special approval is obtained from the President of India under article 254.
When such violations are brought to the notice of the appropriate govt., by the affected individual law knowing citizen, the matter shall be rectified.
For instance, Mr.Warrant Ba-Law challenged, as early as 23.5.2006, the levy of Rs.50/- by the Rules under the Right to Information Act as fees for information petition by the Govt. of Thamizh Naadu. He wrote to the State Public Information Officer, and also marked a copy of it to the office of the President of India under article 254(1) of the Constitution, querrying whether any special permission was got/had been granted to such unreasonable levy contrary to the Central Act on the subject.
The letter had a telling effect and the state govt. was forced to amend the rule on 20.9.2006, bringing the fee level down on par with that of the Centre. The state govt. had insisted on taking a DD for Rs.50/- and had levied Rs.2/- per page for copis. All this changed, and it was decreed by the state govt. to follow all that the Central govt. had dictated.
The gentleman, Mr.Warrant Balaw, had used Sec.76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and not the RTI, 2005-to question the President of India (Central Govt.) to bring about the change of heart of the state Govt., though grudgingly. Though Balaw used the Evidence Act to beat the state govt. has incidentally made the RTI Act much more useful to the public.
Mr.Warrant Balaw had been harping that the RTI Act was superflous and unnecessary in the light of the provisionsof the Indian Evidence Act, he proved, in practical life, to be a source of perfecting the RTIAct.
Article 350 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to present his grievances as petition in his own mother tongue (restricted to any one of the 22 state languages), and he is under no compulsion to use the official language. Supoose, you submit a petition under S.6(1) of the RTI Act to any of the officers of the Karnataka Govt., you had to petition either in Kannada or English, the link language of the Union, as per the previous order/practice of the state govt. of Karnataka. But, it is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
Under Article 350 of the Indian Constitution, the Karnataka Govt. is bound to give the reply in Tamil, or Telugu, or Hindi, in whichever language the petition is presented. The petitioner can insist on a the reply in the launguage in which he sent the petition.
This has been practically established by Mr.Warrant Ba-Law. He petitioned the President of India in 2004 in his mother tongue, Tamil, and got a reply in English. He would not accept the same, and quoted the constitutional provision-Article 350, and asked for, and got a reply in, Tamil from the Presidential Palace. This applies to the Supreme Court of India too.
Mr.Warrant Ba-Law is concerned and is constantly poring over, all the 24 hours, as to which are the laws that are beneficial to the society or injurious or defective. His commitment to this mission has made him to reject an offer of employment abroad.
He wouldn’t engage himself even in advocacy, though many of the readers would be thrilled to have him to plead in court on their behalf. He wouldn’t like to get himself stuck up in a small arena by pleading the individual cases for the sake of financial gain. He can easily get a law degree and practice for a few years and get appointed to the judiciary. His thinking never went that side at all. His life’s mission is awaken the people to the legal rights and their duties as law abiding citizens.
We have joined forces with Warrant Ba-Law to engage in this noble endeavor, which should normally be the concern of the democratically elected government of the people, run for the people, and by the representatives of the people. Hope the readers would extend all their support in this noble mission.
The books have been supplied free of cost, to all the libraries, police stations, Prisons and Judiciary around 6500, across Thamizh Naadu and Pondicherry.
We feel that a sort of legal awakening has been stirred up in the Thamizh areas of the Country. Our earnest wish is that the work should be replicated in the vernacular languaged of the areas, in every region of India, so that this vast motherland of ours benefits. The very purpose of the laborious job of translating into a foreign tongue is to enable other language groups to grasp the idea and then render them in their own tongues.
Mind you, we or the author do not claim any patent right to the book. You are free to translate and print and publish as your proprietor, with acknowledgement of the original authorship.
We appeal to you and welcome you with folded hands to join forces with us to create legal awareness in the whole of India forgetting the caste, creed, race, religion and language.
Always with you,
Members of the CARE Society.
Members of the CARE Society.
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