Litigants more concerned with result of dispute rather than principle of law in judgment: Justice Aravind Kumar

While bidding farewell to the Karnataka High Court, Justice Aravind Kumar on Sunday opined that litigants are generally concerned with the end result of a dispute rather than the principle of law enunciated in a judgment.

In this regard, Justice Kumar said,

"The dispute resolution process in undergoing vast change. Onerous responsibility lies on the members of the Bar to rise to the occasion and to keep pace with globalisation and rapid developments in the fields of trade, economy and commerce. The litigants are concerned with the end result of the dispute rather than the principle of law enunciated in the judgment. At the same time, it has to be noticed, depending upon the facts unfolded in each case, the enunciated principle of law has to be applied and not vice-versa."

Justice Kumar was speaking at the farewell event organised for himself and Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

While Justice Kumar was recently elevated as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, ACJ Sharma was appointed as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Speaking on the aspect of speedy justice, he said that establishment of e-traffic courts was a wonderful initiative to achieve that end.

"The Judiciary will have to strive hard to ensure speedy justice and that the same is delivered. The establishment of the e-traffic courts is one such step taken by the High Court of Karnataka under the stewardship of the then Hon'ble Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, now adorning the bench of the Supreme Court."

Justice Kumar also highlighted the roles played by the Bar as well as the judges in dispensing justice to the common man. The public must be made aware of alternate dispute redressal mechanisms, which will, in turn, instil a sense of confidence in the judiciary, he said.

"The Bar and the Bench will have to work in tandem to wipe the tears of those claiming for justice to be delivered. The members of the legal fraternity will have to enlighten the litigant public and solve their disputes by adopting alternate dispute redressal mechanisms, as provided under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure..."

ACJ Sharma said that it was a great privilege to serve the judiciary in Karnataka. Speaking about the members of the Bar, Justice Sharma said,

"The Members of the were highly hospitable and co-operative....I never felt like an outsider."