Trial courts' pecuniary jurisdiction: lawyers stage protest

Lawyers today took out a protest march at India Gate and burnt the effigy of the Union Law Minister against deferment of tabling in Parliament the amended Bill regarding enhancement of pecuniary jurisdiction of trial courts.
A statement issued by the coordination committee of all district courts bar associations here said that advocates have asked the Centre to table afresh the bill for pecuniary jurisdiction of Rs two crore for Delhi district courts and be passed in the resumed budget session of Parliament after the recess.
Lawyers from six district courts -- Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini, Saket and Dwarka -- abstrained from work post-lunch session today.

"The bill was tabled and presented in the Rajya Sabha on March 4 this year. However, much to the agony and discomfort of all the affected lawyers and litigants of Delhi, the bill failed to achieve its objective and got deferred on non-related issue of setting up of Commercial Division in all High Courts, vis-a-vis of conferring pecuniary jurisdiction of Rs two crore for district courts of Delhi.
"While the bill for enhancement pertained solely and exclusively to district courts of Delhi, the other bill, i.E. the Commercial Division bill, is contemplated for setting up of commercial courts on a larger canvass, affecting the courts nation-wide," Advocate Sanjeev Nasiar, Convenor of coordination committee of all district courts bar associations here, said in the statement.

The lawyers' body said the full bench of the Delhi High Court had recommended to the Centre that pecuniary jurisdiction be enhanced from existing Rs 20 lakh to Rs two crore but nothing has been done till date.