There is a chance that the 2012 Vodafone tax case judgment may be reversed by the Supreme Court in the future, former SG Mohan Parasaran

Senior Advocate and former Solicitor General for India and Mohan Parasaran today said that there is a good chance that the Supreme Court's Vodafone tax judgment may stand reversed in the future..Parasaran made the observation while addressing an online seminar conducted and hosted by Taxsutra as part of its series Taxsutra Dialogues. .While delivering a talk on the subject of The Pandemic, Litigation Management and Judicial Process, he reminisced on the most memorable cases he was involved in..When asked about one of the most famous cases in the arena of taxation laws, Parasaran said,."There are some 2-3 cases which are pending before the Supreme Court at present and there is a good chance the Vodafone case may be reversed in those cases."Former SG Mohan Parasaran.In the dispute between telecom giant Vodafone and the Indian tax authorities decided in 2012, Parasaran had represented the latter in all rounds of litigation in his capacity as a law officer..During the webinar, Parasaran also recalled the case concerning abolition of horse racing as one of the most memorable cases he has been a part of. His father, Senior Advocate and former Attorney General K Parasaran, was the lead counsel in favour of the racing..Parasaran recollected that he was the third counsel in that case along with the second counsel (now Justice) Rohinton Nariman. The case in favour of abolition was argued by the doyens of law such as late Senior Advocate and former Attorney General Ashok Desai..During the dialogue, Parasaran also addressed the subject of virtual courts and hearings through video conferencing to say that they are here to stay. All stakeholders will have to adapt to this type of proceedings soon, Parasaran opined..Virtual courts also may appear to be an arena for "elitism" in the profession, Parasaran said, suggesting that the new system may not give a level playing field to all lawyers..Interestingly, Parasaran also touched upon the component of fees charged by the lawyers at a time when video hearings are held. He explained that under normal circumstances, the reasons why lawyers charge higher fees for cases in other cities include the travelling involved, and the fact that the counsel tends to lose out on briefs in his primary city of practice for the duration of time he is expected to be away..As such, when a big client engages a lawyer, fees charged varies depending on the requirement of every case. But Parasaran says that he is surprised to find that some "elitist lawyers" are still charging fees based on this principle, even when all the hearings at present are conducted via video conferencing doing away with the travel component or even the loss of other cases.."Now there should be uniformity in fees because hearings are virtual. I am surprised to know some lawyers are still continuing that practice...we have to answer our own conscience."Mohan Parasaran.While virtual Courts are the need of the hour due to the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is also a need for the courts to reopen for normal functioning soon. Failing this, the issue of personal liberty of people will face severe jeopardy, Parasaran said.."I agree that Courts should open up and also should be more proactive because if Courts are not proactive then personal liberty of persons can be in serious jeopardy."Mohan Parasaran.The existing system of virtual courts, particularly at the Supreme Court, may also be in need of some technical upgrade, the Senior Advocate said. He also flagged the difficulties litigants and lawyers often face during the hearings on account of technical glitches..The system of video conference hearings is also by and large not uniform, he pointed out. Keeping in view that virtual courts are here to stay, there is a need for uniformity in the process, including processes such as e-filing. For this, the Supreme Court should conduct an all-India conference of Chief Justices of all High Courts, Parasaran suggested..The dialogue with former Solicitor General and Senior Advocate Mohan Parasaran was conducted and moderated by Editor of Taxsutra, Arun Giri and Executive Partner of Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, L Badri Narayanan.