Category: Art of Advocacy
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Preventive arrest and security proceedings in CrPC (S.107/151 CrPC) and misuse abuse
Context Abuse of the criminal justice machinery is rampant in India. People are often wrongly implicated in criminal cases and deprived of their personal liberty. India – in fact – bears the dubious distinction of being a country with one of the highest number of pending criminal cases (relative to civil cases), where more than…
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Right of the Victim to be heard in a Revision petition filed by the Accused
Are we still arguing this? Wasn’t this decided already? Well, the answer is Yes AND No. Taking a step back for a moment and frankly speaking – apart from this specific problem, we have indeed come a long way; from the days when a Victim was relegated to being a mere footnote in a criminal…
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Deferment of cross examination of prosecution witnesses (Defence Counsel diaries)
Weaponisation of the Criminal Justice System and Perjury is rampant in India. False criminal cases are routinely filed to settle scores. In these cases, witnesses, who are often related to each other (and depose on the same set of facts), often depose falsely and parrot the same narrative/story and try to create a pretence of…
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A few thoughts on drafting of written submissions:
1. Lay out what the case is about in the 1st para itself. For instance, in a contractual dispute, say, at the very outset, that this case concerns a software license agreement where X gave Y license to use it’s software. The parties are before this Court/Tribunal because the contract does not – at least…
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A few thoughts on Court Craft:
1. Be fair & honourable. An advocate is a story-teller but she’s an ethical story-teller. You don’t take creative liberty with the facts. You may be entitled to your own opinions or interpretations but you are not entitled to your own facts. 2. But there is a creative element in how you present those facts.…
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Some thoughts on the Art of Cross Examination
“Cross-examination is the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth.” John Henry Wigmore 1. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. You have to LIVE the case to be able to cross examine well. 2. When the witness is under cross examination, you are on trial too; especially when giving suggestions, as…
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Some thoughts on 313 of the CrPC (The Art of Trial Advocacy)
1. Explain each incriminating evidence specifically and clearly. 2. Ensure that your narrative in S.313 is consistent with your defence in the case (as discernible from bail applications, cross examination of PWs, discharge application, etc). 3. Traditional/generic responses such as “This is false case” or “This is a matter of record. I am innocent.” simply…
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ArtOfAdvocacy (100 Words): The Craft of addressing Final Arguments in Trials:
1. Your argument should, at the very outset, answer : WDWTW. Who did what to whom? Legal issues can come later. 2. Storytelling is key. Use choice details to paint a vivid image. 3. Carefully sift admitted and disputed facts. Narrow down the point of controversy. 4. Concede bad facts. Be fair. Build credibility. Be…
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