INTRODUCTION
Three organs of government exist in our country, each to fulfil its own respective function. They are- Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. The third organ of government, i.e., the judiciary or the judicial system play a vital role in the society. The judicial systems always ensures that justice is granted to each and every person out there without causing any prejudice to the justice of others. The main objective of out judicial system is the attainment of justice for all the parties to the case and the society at large. For fulfilling this objective, the Bar and the Bench play an important role as partners.
BAR AND BENCH - EXPLAINED
A Court basically comprises of two parts- Bar and Bench. Amongst which, Bar is that part, which is said to have comprise the Advocates and the bench, on the other hand, comprise of the Judges. In simpler words, Bench is the place where the Advocates stand and Bar is the place where the Judges stand. The relation between the both, i.e., judges and the advocates is known as Bar and Bench relation. The relation between the judges and the advocates is the determining factor of the speedy justice and the faith that the public has on the judicial system. It is notable that both the advocates as well as the judges play equally important role in administration of justice and both of them are collectively responsible for providing justice.
All the citizens have to obey the judge’s decision as their life, liberty, personal and domestic happiness and property are subject to the wisdom of the judge. Every country needs a strong, powerful and impartial judicial system for its overall development and maintenance of law and order. There are several duties that a judge has to perform. For instance, he should give a patient hearing to both the parties to the case and should not form any opinion until and unless he has heard both the parties. He should ensure that sufficient opportunity is provided to both the parties before coming to any decision. He should be impartial and should not give any decision in favour of anyone because of his relation or acquaintance with anyone. He should further ensure that there are no unwanted interruptions and bad comments to disturb the advocates while he’s arguing or examination of
witnesses is going on. He should also do proper interpretation of acts, codes, regulations, orders so as to ensure that the administration of justice is done in an unambiguous and consistent manner. He should also ensure that there are no unnecessary adjournments as such adjournments cause a lot of hardships to the parties thereto. So, it should be made sure that there no adjournments without reasonable and sufficient grounds. It is also to be ensured by the judge that there is a speedy but not hasty disposal of the case. Further, the independence of judiciary from the other two organs of the government should also be the prime duty of the judge. Furthermore, a judge should be a person having both personal as well as intellectual integrity. He should keep himself updated about the recent developments and changes made in the law.
Advocates are known as the officers of the court and help the court in the administration of justice and arriving at the judgement. They are considered to be social engineers as they represent the parties in the cases and help in delivering justice to the aggrieved party and thereby helping in making this society a better place to live in. They have to perform certain duties or obligation while rendering their services as advocates. Their first and foremost duty is to adopt a respectful attitude towards the courts as well the judges. They should try to ensure that their clients do not indulge in any kind of unfair practices in the court. They should not try influence or persuade the court through any illegal or inappropriate means. He should not plead a case just because of his monetary interest in that case.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BAR AND THE BENCH
Since the Bart and the Bench are equally important in the administration of justice, so a cordial relation between both of them is of utmost importance. For maintaining a cordial relation between the Bar and the Bench, it is necessary that there is mutual respect between both of these institutions. Both belong to the same community and are complementary to each other. There should be a relation of mutual respect between Bar and the Bench and indulgence into any kind of harsh or heated arguments should be avoided. An advocate should not scandalize the court as it will lead to corruption of the very foundation of justice and such conduct by an advocate will dishonour the process of administration of justice.
Simultaneously, the judges should also adopt a polite and calm attitude behaviour towards the advocates and should do everything possible to help the advocate in presenting the case.
The Supreme Court in P.D. Gupta v. Ram Murti and Others case has laid down his opinion on Bar and Bench relation in the following words:
“An advocate should be fair not only towards his client but also towards the court as well as towards the opposite party of the case. The process of administration of justice has to be kept clean and uncorrupted. The Administration of justice not only concerns the Bench, it concerns both the Bench and the Bar. The principal ground for recruiting judges is the Bar, both the judges and the advocates complement each other. The main duty of an Advocate is to present the case in court by informing the court about the law and the facts of the case and to help the court in arising at the conclusion of the case. For good administration of justice, an advocate shall possess good advocacy skills, so that he can put forward the case in court properly and not get interrupted by the judge unless the interruption is necessary.”
In the case of Mahant Hakumat Rai v. Emperor the high court held that:
“An advocate can claim their right to be heard by the court before which they are practicing while performing their duty they shall be fearless and independent, and also they have the right to protest against any irregular procedure done by any judge. He would be perfectly right in asking for getting a proper hearing and objecting to any interruption made by the judge in order to disturb him while he is arguing the case in court and performing his duty towards the client. However, the presence of professional etiquette coupled with the recognition by the judiciary will help in reducing the conflicts between the Bar and Bench”.
According to ex-CJI, Justice S. A. Bobde, attitude of mutual respect between Bar and Bench is necessary for functioning of judicial system. In his farewell speech, he emphasised on the quality of communication and the relationship between the bar and the bench for the fulfilment of the most important function of the judiciary to protect the life, liberty and the property of the citizens.
CONCLUSION
Since the Bart and the Bench are equally important in the administration of justice, so a cordial relation between both of them is of utmost importance. It should be made sure that there is an attitude of mutual respect between bar and bench. Only then appropriate administration of justice can be there.
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