By M.C. Linthoingambee
There are a series of steps now, going into the making and creating the success of a case. Earlier, it was different. Law in India has indeed evolved from religious prescription to the current constitutional and legal system we have today, transformed from the days of the laws followed in view of the erstwhile British India. We have more to brag about, more to study and much more to learn. The steps to becoming a great Judge or an Advocate lies in reading judgments after judgments and keeping aware of the constant changes that goes on around. The judgments made in India are often made while keeping into view of what a judge of the higher court has given known to us as `following Precedents`. The Court Room is where all drama are called into action without the need of a director but where things may or may not go as planned. But it’s a place where Lady Justice serves her priority of serving equality for all, as engraved in our Constitution of India and seeing that all matters of encroachment of a moral or legal right find answers.
Civil Procedure mainly guides us to the course and series of procedures we have to follow in order to get some relief or remedy. First up, in certain situations where a suspect has fled or is currently absconding after committing a crime, he is liable to be summoned in Court through manners prescribed under the code. The form of his summon may be through a issue of an arrest warrant, publication of a notice of his whereabouts and description in the newspaper circulated in that area where the suspect last resided or is believed to have stayed, by attaching a notice of the summon on the place of the house where the suspect earlier resided. This is just one step. They also call upon expert opinion and witnesses while examining the selects a crime patrol as a result of the examination of witnesses. These evidence statements made by them may also be either documented or in the electronic form currently taken in front of the oath commissioner or the examination-in-chief. And it is also our duty to see that the suspect as a human being is given equal leverage and put in the same footing as the other party. Owing to his arrest in the nearing end, he shall be given a choice to hire a lawyer, but in case, he could not afford one the court suo moto (on its own motion) applies the mind of a learned persona and directs the demand of an Amicus Curie (friend of the court to represent the party who cannot afford any court fees) so that both parties may be heard equally as per the Indian legal system.
As per record, Indian legal system has a fine outline of a principles of Civil Law, wherein a person goes to a Civil Court of Law to get his relief or claim from the court’s doorsteps so that he may be befitted to hamper to the injuries or losses incurred as a matter of somebody’s wrong or common action. So, as understandable to the fragments, civil law is indeed unique. The one applied in India currently was so as to say inspired from the Roman law initially which has been uniquely amended and changed according to the need of time. As a source of reference to be applied legislatively, the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 serves as the father legislation who answers all calls of the common man. Civil Procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits, it is not the same as the criminal procedure. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act No. 5 of 1908) of India is an act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the procedure of the Courts of Civil Judicature. Civil means doing what we think is right. When there is a matter of conflict we all know about the existence of the two sides or parties. The first step is to bring forth their statement of facts from the party who first takes the pain of bringing a suit (a case) into motion. Then, a period of time is given to the other party to answer back and prove their innocence in the form of a written statement. This is where it all begins and the judge discusses the issues in the case. The life and time of a case come into non-existence when the Judge finally passes a decree in the form of an order thereby asking the parties to meet ends and make amend.
(M.C. Linthoingambee is an undergraduate pursuing B.Com. LL.B(H). An avid blogger, poet, a seasonal artist and a foodie, she is also a life member to the Indian Society of the Red Cross.)