Courts cannot give judgments based on public sentiments: Supreme Court Judge AS Oka

There is a need to improve legal literacy among general public including educated people, Supreme Court judge Justice AS Oka said on Saturday, stressing that courts cannot go by public sentiments when delivering judgments. .General public has to be made aware about the processes involved in law, Justice Oka emphasised."Legal literacy is lacking even among highly educated. There is a need to make public aware of processes of the law," he said. "They (public) don't understand we can't give orders based on public sentiments," he added.In this regard, he also pointed out how judges are criticised on public platforms and social media. "We find that after court decisions, there are remarks online which can't be read in court. You suddenly realise it's your order being talked about on social media," the judge quipped.He was speaking at the second annual lecture on the topic "Importance of Ethics in the Legal Profession", organised by the Advocates Association Of Western India. In his speech, Justice Oka touched on subjects relating to ethics in the legal profession, need for legal literacy, pro bono work, ensuring that advocates stick to a reasonable time while arguing cases, and live streaming of court proceedings albeit with a code of conduct. The judge said that lack of legal literacy has especially meant that educated people do not understand the reasons for pendency of cases, the difference between bail and acquittal, and that sentencing in criminal courts cannot be bound by sentiments of public. He, therefore, urged the Bar Associations to incorporate the need of improving legal literacy among the general public in their code of ethics. "Some of the remarks are not readable at all, you can't comprehend such remarks," he said, regarding the coverage of legal events in online media, owing to the lack of legal literacy. Regarding pendency of cases, Justice Oka said that with population explosion comes docket explosion. He implored members of the Bar not to resort to boycott of courts as it affects litigants the most. There are other legitimate methods available to register protest, he opined.Curbing delays should be a part of the Bar's code of ethics, he added, pointing out that there is a tendency on the part of lawyers to cite too many judgments these days along with voluminous written submissions which takes up courts' time. The judge also said that his personal view is that live-streaming of court proceedings should be allowed but in a limited manner. Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Dipankar Dutta, also spoke at the function..[Read live account of the event below]