Presumption of Joint Hindu Family : The Law

Justice A.K. Mathur
Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court in Appasaheb Peerappa Chandgade vs Devendra Peerappa Chandgade has ruled on the presumption regarding joint family property under the Hindu law. The Supreme Court after considering various precedents on the subject, held that there is no presumption of joint family property, and whoever alleges the existence of the same must prove it through evidence. The Supreme Court further added that if it is shown that the properties were acquired out of the family nucleus, the initial burden is discharged by the person who claims joint Hindu family, and the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property by cogent and necessary evidence. The relevant extracts from the judgment are reproduced hereinbelow;

6. We have gone through the records and heard learned Counsel for the parties at length. So far the legal proposition is concerned, there is no gain saying that whenever a suit for partition and determination of share and possession thereof is filed, then the initial burden is on the plaintiff to show that the entire property was a joint Hindu family property and after initial discharge of the burden, it shifts on the defendants to show that the property claimed by them was not purchased out of the joint family nucleus and it was purchased independent of them. This settled proposition emerges from various decisions of this Court right from 1954 onwards.

7. In the case of Srinivas Krishnarao Kango v. Narayan Devli Kango and Ors. , their Lordships held that proof of the existence of a joint family does not lead to the presumption that property held by any member of the family is joint, and the burden rests upon anyone asserting that any item of property was joint to establish the fact. But where it is established that the family possessed some joint property which from its nature and relative value may have formed the nucleus from which the property in question may have been acquired, the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property. Therefore, so far as the proposition of law is concerned, the initial burden is on the person who claims that it was joint family property but after initial discharge of the burden, it shifts to the party who claims that the property has been purchased by him through his own source and not from the joint family nucleus. Same proposition has been followed in the case of Mst. Rukhmabai v. Lala Laxminarayan and Ors. wherein it was observed as follows:

There is a presumption in Hindu Law that a family is joint. There can be a division in status among the members of a joint Hindu family by definement of shares which is technically called "division of status", or an actual division among them by allotment of specific property to each one of them which is described as "division by metes and bounds". A member need not receive any share in the joint estate but may renounce his interest therein; his renunciation merely extinguishes his interest in the estate but does not affect that status of the remaining members vis-a-vis the family property. A division in status can be effected by an unambiguous declaration to become divided from the others and that intention can be expressed by any process. Though prima facie a document clearly expressing the intention to divide brings about a division in status, it is open to a party to prove that the said document was a sham or a nominal one not intended to be acted upon but was conceived and executed for an ulterior purpose. But there is no presumption that any property, whether moveable or immoveable, held by a member of a joint Hindu family, is joint family property. The burden lies upon the person who asserts that a particular property is joint family property to establish that fact. But if he proves that there was sufficient joint family nucleus from and out of which the said property could have been acquired, the burden shifts to the member of the family setting up the claim that it is his personal property to establish that the said property has been acquired without any assistance from the joint family property.

Similarly, in the case of Achuthan Nair v. Chinnammu Amma and Ors. , their Lordships held as follows:

Under Hindu law, when a property stands in the name of a member of a joint family, it is incumbent upon those asserting that it is a joint family property to establish it. When it is proved or admitted that a family possessed sufficient nucleus with the aid of which the member might have made the acquisition, the law raises a presumption that it is a joint family property and the onus is shifted to the individual member to establish that the property was acquired by him without the aid of the said nucleus. This is a well settled proposition of law.

Similarly, in the case of Bhagwant P. Sulakhe v. Digambar Gopal Sulakhe and Ors., their Lordships have held that the character of any joint family property does not change with the severance of the status of the joint family and a joint family property continues to retain its joint family character so long as the joint family property is in existence and is not partitioned amongst the co-sharers. By a unilateral act it is not open to any member of the joint family to convert any joint family property into his personal property.

8. In the case of Surendra Kumar v. Phoolchand (dead) through LRs and Anr. their Lordships held as follows:

It is no doubt true that there is no presumption that a family because it is joint possessed joint property and therefore the person alleging the property to be joint has to establish that the family was possessed of some property with the income of which the property could have been acquired. But such a presumption is a presumption of fact which can be rebutted/ But where it is established or admitted that the family which possessed joint property which from its nature and relative value may have formed sufficient nucleus from which the property in question may have been acquired, the presumption arises that it was the joint property and the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family.

Therefore, on survey of the aforesaid decisions what emerges is that there is no presumption of a joint Hindu family but on the evidence if it is established that the property was joint Hindu family property and the other properties were acquired out of that nucleus, if the initial burden is discharged by the person who claims joint Hindu family, then the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property by cogent and necessary evidence.

Need to Review the Law Relating to Adverse Possession : Supreme Court

Justice Dalveer Bhandari
Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Mukesh Kumar & Ors. has reiterated the need for a review of the law relating to adverse possession in India. The present case raised a vital question whether the State, which is in charge of protection of life, liberty and property of the people can be permitted to grab the land and property of its own citizens under the banner of the plea of adverse possession? Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma have succinctly traced out the law relating to adverse possession while recommending the abolition of such a law. The relevant extracts from the judgment are as under;

26. In a democracy, governed by rule of law, the task of protecting life and property of the citizens is entrusted to the police department of the government. In the instant case, the suit has been filed through the Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, seeking right of ownership by adverse possession. 

27. The revenue records of the State revealed that the disputed property stood in the name of the defendants. It is unfortunate that the Superintendent of Police, a senior official of the Indian Police Service, made repeated attempts to grab the property of the true owner by filing repeated appeals before different forums claiming right of ownership by way of adverse possession. 

28. The citizens may lose faith in the entire police administration of the country that those responsible for the safety and security of their life and property are on a spree of grabing the properties from the true owners in a clandestine manner. 

29. A very informative and erudite Article was published in Neveda Law Journal Spring 2007 with the title ‘Making Sense Out of Nonsense: A Response to Adverse Possession by Governmental Entities’. The Article was written by Andrew Dickal. Historical background of adverse possession was discussed in that article.

Historical background 

30. The concept of adverse possession was born in England around 1275 and was initially created to allow a person to claim right of “seisin” from his ancestry. Many felt that the original law that relied on “seisin” was difficult to establish, and around 1623 a statue of limitations was put into place that allowed for a person in possession of property for twenty years or more to acquire title to that property. This early English doctrine was designed to prevent legal disputes over property rights that were time consuming and costly. The doctrine was also created to prevent the waste of land by forcing owners to monitor their property or suffer the consequence of losing title. 

31. The concept of adverse possession was subsequently adopted in the United States. The doctrine was especially important in early American periods to cure the growing number of title disputes. The American version mirrored the English law, which is illustrated by most States adopting a twenty-year statue of limitations for adverse possession claims. As America has developed to the present date, property rights have become increasingly more important and land has become limited. As a result, the time period to acquire land by adverse possession has been reduced in some States to as little as five years, while in others, it has remained as long as forty years. The United States has also changed the traditional doctrine by preventing the use of adverse possession against property held by a governmental entity. 

32. During the colonial period, prior to the enactment of the Bill of Rights, property was frequently taken by states from private land owners without compensation. Initially, undeveloped tracts of land were the most common type of property acquired by the government, as they were sought for the installation of public road. Under the colonial system it was thought that benefits from the road would, in a newly opened country, always exceed the value of unimproved land. 

33. The doctrine of adverse possession arose in an era where lands were vast particularly in the United States of America and documentation sparse in order to give quietus to the title of the possessor and prevent fanciful claims from erupting. The concept of adverse possession exits to cure potential or actual defects in real estate titles by putting a statute of limitation on possible litigation over ownership and possession. A landowner could be secure in title to his land; otherwise, long-lost heirs of any former owner, possessor or lien holder of centuries past could come forward with a legal claim on the property. Since independence of our country we have witnessed registered documents of title and more proper, if not perfect, entries of title in the government records. The situation having changed, the statute calls for a change. 

34. In Hemaji Waghaji Jat v. Bhikhabhai Khengarbhai Harijan and Others (2009) 16 SCC 517 (one of us Bhandari, J.), this Court had an occasion to examine the English and American law on “adverse possession”. The relevant paras of that judgment (Paras 24 and 26 to 29) are reproduced as under: 

“24. In a relatively recent case in P.T. Munichikkanna Reddy v. Revamma (2007) 6 SCC 59, this Court again had an occasion to deal with the concept of adverse possession in detail. The Court also examined the legal position in various countries particularly in English and American systems. We deem it appropriate to reproduce relevant passages in extenso. The Court dealing with adverse possession in paras 5 and 6 observed as under: (SCC pp. 66-67) 

“5. Adverse possession in one sense is based on the theory or presumption that the owner has abandoned the property to the adverse possessor on the acquiescence of the owner to the hostile acts and claims of the person in possession. It follows that sound qualities of a typical adverse possession lie in it being open, continuous and hostile. (See Downing v. Bird 100 So 2d 57 (Fla 1958), Arkansas Commemorative Commission v. City of Little Rock 227, Ark 1085 : 303 SW 2d 569 (1957); Monnot v. Murphy 207 NY 240 : 100 NE 742 (1913); City of Rock Springs v. Sturm 39 Wyo 494 : 273 P 908 : 97 ALR 1 (1929).) 

6. Efficacy of adverse possession law in most jurisdictions depends on strong limitation statutes by operation of which right to access the court expires through efflux of time. As against rights of the paper-owner, in the context of adverse possession, there evolves a set of competing rights in favour of the adverse possessor who has, for a long period of time, cared for the land, developed it, as against the owner of the property who has ignored the property. Modern statutes of limitation operate, as a rule, not only to cut off one’s right to bring an action for the recovery of property that has been in the adverse possession of another for a specified time, but also to vest the possessor with title. The intention of such statutes is not to punish one who neglects to assert rights, but to protect those who have maintained the possession of property for the time specified by the statute under claim of right or colour of title. (See American Jurisprudence, Vol. 3, 2d, p. 81. It is important to keep in mind while studying the American notion of adverse possession, especially in the backdrop of limitation statutes, that the intention to dispossess cannot be given a complete go-by. Simple application of limitation shall not be enough by itself for the success of an adverse possession claim.” 

35. A person pleading adverse possession has no equities in his favour since he is trying to defeat the rights of the true owner. It is for him to clearly plead and establish all facts necessary to establish adverse possession. Though we got this law of adverse possession from the British, it is important to note that these days English Courts are taking a very negative view towards the law of adverse possession. The English law was amended and changed substantially to reflect these changes, particularly in light of the view that property is a human right adopted by the European Commission. 

This Court in Revamma (supra) observed that to understand the true nature of adverse possession, Fairweather v. St Marylebone Property Co [1962] 2 WLR 1020 : [1962] 2 All ER 288 can be considered where House of Lords referring to Taylor v. Twinberrow [1930] 2 K.B. 16 termed adverse possession as a negative and consequential right effected only because somebody else's positive right to access the court is barred by operation of law. 

As against the rights of the paper-owner, in the context of adverse possession, there evolves a set of competing rights in favour of the adverse possessor who has, for a long period of time, cared for the land, developed it, as against the owner of the property who has ignored the property. 

36. The right to property is now considered to be not only constitutional or statutory right but also a human right. Human rights have already been considered in realm of individual rights such as right to health, right to livelihood, right to shelter and employment etc. But now human rights are gaining a multi faceted dimension. Right to property is also considered very much a part of the new dimension. Therefore, even claim of adverse possession has to be read in that context. 

37. The changing attitude of the English Courts is quite visible from the judgment of Beaulane Properties Ltd. v. Palmer (2005) 3 WLR 554. The Court here tried to read the human rights position in the context of adverse possession. But what is commendable is that the dimension of human rights have widened so much that now property dispute issues are also being raised within the contours of human rights. With the expanding jurisprudence of the European Courts of Human Rights, the Court has taken an unkind view to the concept of adverse possession. 

38. Paragraphs from 26 to 29 of Hemaji Waghaji Jat (supra) are set out as under:- 

26. With the expanding jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the Court has taken an unkind view to the concept of adverse possession in the recent judgment of JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd. v. United Kingdom (2005) 49 ERG 90 which concerned the loss of ownership of land by virtue of adverse possession. In the said case, “the applicant company was the registered owner of a plot of 23 hectares of agricultural land. The owners of a property adjacent to the land, Mr and Mrs Graham (the Grahams) occupied the land under a grazing agreement. After a brief exchange of documents in December 1983 a chartered surveyor acting for the applicants wrote to the Grahams noting that the grazing agreement was about to expire and requiring them to vacate the land.” The Grahams continued to use the whole of the disputed land for farming without the permission of the applicants from September 1998 till 1999. In 1997, Mr Graham moved the Local Land Registry against the applicant on the ground that he had obtained title by adverse possession. The Grahams challenged the applicant company’s claims under the Limitation Act, 1980 (the 1980 Act) which provides that a person cannot bring an action to recover any land after the expiration of 12 years of adverse possession by another. 

27. The judgment was pronounced in JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd. v. Graham (2000) 3 WLR 242 : 2000 Ch 676. The Court held in favour of the Grahams but went on to observe the irony in law of adverse possession. The court observed that the law which provides to oust an owner on the basis of inaction of 12 years is “illogical and disproportionate”. The effect of such law would “seem draconian to the owner” and “a windfall for the squatter”. The court expressed its astonishment on the prevalent law that ousting an owner for not taking action within limitation is illogical. The applicant company aggrieved by the said judgment filed an appeal and the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court decision. The Grahams then appealed to the House of Lords, which, allowed their appeal and restored the order of the High Court. 

28. The House of Lords in JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd. v. Graham (2003) 1 AC 419 : (2002) 3 WLR 221 : (2002) 3 All ER 865 (HL), observed that the Grahams had possession of the land in the ordinary sense of the word, and, therefore, the applicant company had been dispossessed of it within the meaning of the Limitation Act of 1980. 

29. We deem it proper to reproduce the relevant portion of the judgment in P.T. Munichikkanna Reddy v. Revamma (2007) 6 SCC 59: (SCC p. 79, paras 51-52) 

“51. Thereafter the applicants moved the European Commission of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging that the United Kingdom law on adverse possession, by which they lost land to a neighbour, operated in violation of Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (‘the Convention’). 

52. It was contended by the applicants that they had been deprived of their land by the operation of the domestic law on adverse possession which is in contravention with Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (‘the Convention’), which reads as under: 

‘Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possession. No one shall be deprived of his possession except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law. 

The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties.’ ” 

This Court in Revamma case also mentioned that the European Council of Human Rights importantly laid down three-pronged test to judge the interference of the Government with the right of “peaceful enjoyment of property”: (SCC p. 79, para 53) 

“53. ... [In] Beyeler v. Italy [GC] No. 33202 of 1996 §§ 108-14 ECHR 2000-I, it was held that the ‘interference’ should comply with the principle of lawfulness and pursue a legitimate aim (public interest) by means reasonably proportionate to the aim sought to be realised.” 

The Court observed:(Revamma case 79-80, paras 54-56) 

“54. ... ‘The question nevertheless remains whether, even having regard to the lack of care and inadvertence on the part of the applicants and their advisers, the deprivation of their title to the registered land and the transfer of beneficial ownership to those in unauthorized possession struck a fair balance with any legitimate public interest served. 

In these circumstances, the Court concludes that the application of the provisions of the 1925 and 1980 Acts to deprive the applicant companies of their title to the registered land imposed on them an individual and excessive burden and upset the fair balance between the demands of the public interest on the one hand and the applicants’ right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions on the other. 

There has therefore been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol 1.’ 

55. The question of the application of Article 41 was referred for the Grand Chamber Hearing of the ECHR. This case sets the field of adverse possession and its interface with the right to peaceful enjoyment in all its complexity. 

56. Therefore it will have to be kept in mind the courts around the world are taking an unkind view towards statutes of limitation overriding property rights.” 

39. In Hemaji Waghaji Jat case, this Court ultimately observed as under: 

“32. Before parting with this case, we deem it appropriate to observe that the law of adverse possession which ousts an owner on the basis of inaction within limitation is irrational, illogical and wholly disproportionate. The law as it exists is extremely harsh for the true owner and a windfall for a dishonest person who had illegally taken possession of the property of the true owner. The law ought not to benefit a person who in a clandestine manner takes possession of the property of the owner in contravention of law. This in substance would mean that the law gives seal of approval to the illegal action or activities of a rank trespasser or who had wrongfully taken possession of the property of the true owner. 

33. We fail to comprehend why the law should place premium on dishonesty by legitimising possession of a rank trespasser and compelling the owner to lose his possession only because of his inaction in taking back the possession within limitation.” 

Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – a principle of a civilized society 

40. Another important development in the protection of property rights was the Fifth Amendment. James Madison was the drafter and key supporter for the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”. The main issue is to pay just compensation for acquiring the property. There are primarily two situations when a landowner may obtain compensation for land officially transferred to or depreciated by the government. First, an owner may be entitled to compensation when a governmental entity intentionally acquires private property through a formal condemnation proceeding and without the owner’s consent. The State’s power to take property is considered inherent through its eminent domain powers as a sovereign. Through the condemnation proceedings, the government obtains the necessary interest in the land, and the Fifth Amendment requires that the property owner be compensated for this loss. 

41. The second situation requiring compensation under Fifth Amendment occurs when the government has not officially acquired private property through a formal condemnation proceeding, but “nonetheless takes property by physically invading or appropriating it”. Under this scenario, the property owner, at the point in which a “taking” has occurred, has the option of filing a claim against the government actor to recover just compensation for the loss. When the landowner sues the government seeking compensation for a taking, it is considered an inverse condemnation proceeding, because the landowner and not the government is bringing the cause of action. 

42. We inherited this law of adverse possession from the British. The Parliament may consider abolishing the law of adverse possession or at least amending and making substantial changes in law in the larger public interest. The Government instrumentalities – including the police – in the instant case have attempted to possess land adversely. This, in our opinion, a testament to the absurdity of the law and a black mark upon the justice system’s legitimacy. The Government should protect the property of a citizen – not steal it. And yet, as the law currently stands, they may do just that. If this law is to be retained, according to the wisdom of the Parliament, then at least the law must require those who adversely possess land to compensate title owners according to the prevalent market rate of the land or property in question. This alternative would provide some semblance of justice to those who have done nothing other than sitting on their rights for the statutory period, while allowing the adverse possessor to remain on property. 

While it may be indefensible to require all adverse possessors – some of whom may be poor – to pay market rates for the land they possess, perhaps some lesser amount would be realistic in most of the cases. The Parliament may either fix a set range of rates or to leave it to the judiciary with the option of choosing from within a set range of rates so as to tailor the compensation to the equities of a given case. 

43. The Parliament must seriously consider at least to abolish “bad faith” adverse possession, i.e., adverse possession achieved through intentional trespassing. Actually believing it to be their own could receive title through adverse possession sends a wrong signal to the society at large. Such a change would ensure that only those who had established attachments to the land through honest means would be entitled to legal relief. 

44. In case, the Parliament decides to retain the law of adverse possession, the Parliament might simply require adverse possession claimants to possess the property in question for a period of 30 to 50 years, rather than a mere 12. Such an extension would help to ensure that successful claimants have lived on the land for generations, and are therefore less likely to be individually culpable for the trespass (although their forebears might). A longer statutory period would also decrease the frequency of adverse possession suits and ensure that only those claimants most intimately connected with the land acquire it, while only the most passive and unprotective owners lose title. 

45. Reverting to the facts of this case, if the Police department of the State with all its might is bent upon taking possession of any land or building in a clandestine manner, then, perhaps no one would be able to effectively prevent them. 

46. It is our bounden duty and obligation to ascertain the intention of the Parliament while interpreting the law. Law and Justice, more often than not, happily coincide only rarely we find serious conflict. The archaic law of adverse possession is one such. A serious re-look is absolutely imperative in the larger interest of the people. 

47. Adverse possession allows a trespasser – a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, in the eyes of law - to gain legal title to land which he has illegally possessed for 12 years. How 12 years of illegality can suddenly be converted to legal title is, logically and morally speaking, baffling. This outmoded law essentially asks the judiciary to place its stamp of approval upon conduct that the ordinary Indian citizen would find reprehensible. 

48. The doctrine of adverse possession has troubled a great many legal minds. We are clearly of the opinion that time has come for change.

49. If the protectors of law become the grabbers of the property (land and building), then, people will be left with no protection and there would be a total anarchy in the entire country. 

50. It is indeed a very disturbing and dangerous trend. In our considered view, it must be arrested without further loss of time in the larger public interest. No Government Department, Public Undertaking, and much less the Police Department should be permitted to perfect the title of the land or building by invoking the provisions of adverse possession and grab the property of its own citizens in the manner that has been done in this case. 

51. In our considered view, there is an urgent need for a fresh look of the entire law on adverse possession. We recommend the Union of India to immediately consider and seriously deliberate either abolition of the law of adverse possession and in the alternate to make suitable amendments in the law of adverse possession. A copy of this judgment be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India for taking appropriate steps in accordance with law.

Jurisdiction of Courts in Cheque Bouncing Matters : The Law

Justice P. Nandrajog
Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court in Shree Raj Travels & Tours Ltd.& Ors. v. Destination of the World (Subcontinent) Pvt. Ltd. had the occasion to review the law relating to jurisdiction of criminal courts vis a vis the commission of acts / omissions constituting an offence in matters pertaining to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The Court while considering the previous dicta laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held as under;

8. It is the case of the petitioners that the cheques in question were drawn at Mumbai. The drawee bank is at Mumbai, notice issued by the respondent to the petitioner company was received at Mumbai and thus merely because the respondent posted the notice from Delhi and deposited the cheque with its bank at Delhi would not confer jurisdiction on Courts in Delhi.

9. The issue has to be debated with reference to Section 138 of the NI Act and the applicable provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure i.e. Sections 177, 178 and 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

10. In the decision reported as 1999 (7) SCC 510 K.Bhaskaran Vs. Shankaran Vaidhyan Balan & Anr., the Supreme Court has opined, after considering Sections 178 to Section 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, that an offence may be completed in different localities and thus can be tried in any Court having jurisdiction over said localities. To put it pithily, in relation to territorial jurisdiction, qua an offence, law recognizes more than 1 court having territorial jurisdiction and the issue of territorial jurisdiction would have to be decided with reference to whether a part of an offence was committed within the territorial jurisdiction of a court. The issue is no longer res integra and I just need to note the decision of the Supreme Court in K.Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) and highlight that the aforesaid is to be culled out from paras 11 and 12 of the said decision.

11. The next logical question would be, what are the contours of Section 138 of the NI Act pertaining to acts to be performed in relation to an offence contemplated by the said Section? It hardly be re-emphasized that it are acts of commission or omission which constitute offences, with or without the requisite mens rea, depending upon whether the offence is an absolute offence or not.

12. Let me thus note Section 138, NI Act which reads as under:-

Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid, either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall without prejudice to any other provisions of this Act, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two year, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply unless-

(a) The cheque has been presented to the bank within a period of six months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier.

(b) The payee or the holder induce course of the cheque, as the case may be, makes a demand for the payment of the said amount of money by giving a notice, in writing, to the drawer, of the cheque, within thirty days of the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheques as unpaid, and

(c) The drawer of such cheque fails to make the payment of the said amount of money to the payee or, as the case may be, to the holder in due course of the cheque, within fifteen days of the receipt of the said notice.

Explanation: For the purpose of this section, "debt or other liability" means a legally enforceable debt or other liability.

13. In Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) the Supreme Court had an occasion to deal with the issue of territorial jurisdiction in relation to Section 138 of the NI Act, and of necessity, the discussion required the Supreme Court to identify the various acts of commission and omission which constituted the offence punishable under Section 138 of the NI Act and suffice would it be to highlight that in para 14 of the decision, the Supreme Court highlighted that there are 5 acts which are the components of the offence punishable under Section 138 of the NI Act and I re-produce the same from para 14 of the decision of the Supreme Court. They read as under:-

(i) drawing of the cheque,

(ii) presentation of the cheque to the bank, 

(iii) returning the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank, 

(iv) giving notice in writing to the drawer of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque amount, 

(v) failure of the drawer to make payment within 15 days of the receipt of the notice.

14. After holding that 5 acts would constitute the components of an offence under Section 138 of the NI Act, in paras 15 and 16 the Supreme Court observed as under:-

"15. It is not necessary that all the above five acts should have been perpetrated at the same locality. It is possible that each of those five acts could be done at five different localities. But a concatenation of all the above five is a sine qua non for the completion of the offence under Section 138 of the Code. In this context a reference to Section 178(d) of the Code is useful. It is extracted below:

....

16. Thus it is clear, if the five different acts were done in five different localities any one of the courts exercising jurisdiction in one of the five local areas can become the place of trial for the offence under Section 138 of the Act. In other words, the complainant can choose any one ofthose courts having jurisdiction over any one of the local areas within the territorial limits of which any one of those five acts was done. As the amplitude stands so widened and so expansive it is an idle exercise to raise jurisdictional question regarding the offence under Section 138 of the Act." (Emphasis Supplied)

15. On the issue of service of notice required to be given by the complainant to the accused, the Supreme Court observed as under:-

"17. The more important point to be decided in this case is whether the cause of action has arisen at all as the notice sent by the complainant to the accused was returned as "unclaimed". The conditions pertaining to the notice to be given to the drawer, have been formulated and incorporated in clauses (b) to (c) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Act. The said clauses are extracted below:

.....

18. On the part of the payee he has to make a demand by "giving a notice" in writing. If that was the only requirement to complete the offence on the failure of the drawer to pay the cheque amount within 15 days from the date of such "giving", the travails of the prosecution would have been very much lessened. But the legislature says that failure on the part of the drawer to pay the amount should be within 15 days "of the receipt" of the said notice. It is, therefore, clear that "giving notice" in the context is not the same as receipt of notice. Giving is a process of which receipt is the accomplishment. It is for the payee to perform the former process by sending the notice to the drawer at the correct address.

 .....

20. If a strict interpretation is given that the drawer should have actually received the notice for the period of 15 days to start running no matter that the payee sent the notice on the correct address, a trickster cheque drawer would get the premium to avoid receiving the notice by different strategies and he could escape from the legal consequences of Section 138 of the Act. It must be borne in mind that the court should not adopt an interpretation which helps a dishonest evader and clips an honest payee as that would defeat the very legislative measure.

21. ....The context envisaged in Section 138 of the Act invites a liberal interpretation for the person who has the statutory obligation to give notice because he is presumed to be the loser in the transaction and it is for his interest the very provision is made by the legislature. The words in clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Act show that the payee has the statutory obligation to "make a demand" by giving notice. The thrust in the clause is on the need to "make a demand". It is only the mode for making such demand which the legislature has prescribed. A payee can send the notice for doing his part for giving the notice. Once it is despatched his part is over and the next depends on what the sendee does.

22. It is well settled that a notice refused to be accepted by the addressee can be presumed to have been served on him (vide Harcharan Singh v. Shivrani and Jagdish Singh v. Natthu Singh).

23. Here the notice is returned as unclaimed and not as refused. Will there be any significant difference between the two so far as the presumption of service is concerned? In this connection a reference to Section 27 of the General Clauses Act will be useful. The section reads thus:

.....

24. No doubt Section 138 of the Act does not require that the notice should be given only by "post". Nonetheless the principle incorporated in Section 27 (quoted above) can profitably be imported in a case where the sender has despatched the notice by post with the correct address written on it. Then it can be deemed to have been served on the sendee unless he proves that it was not really served and that he was not responsible for such non-service. Any other interpretation can lead to a very tenuous position as the drawer of the cheque who is liable to pay the amount would resort to the strategy of subterfuge by successfully avoiding the notice.

25. Thus, when a notice is returned by the sendee as unclaimed such date would be the commencing date in reckoning the period of 15 days contemplated in clause (c) to the proviso of Section 138 of the Act. Of course such reckoning would be without prejudice to the right of the drawer of the cheque to show that he had no knowledge that the notice was brought to his address. In the present case the accused did not even attempt to discharge the burden to rebut the aforesaid presumption." (Emphasis Supplied)

16. The expressions: "presentation of the cheque to the Bank‟ and "if the five different acts were done in five different localities any one of the courts exercising jurisdiction in one of the five local areas can become the place of trial for the offence under Section 138 of the Act‟ to be found in paras 14 and 16 respectively in Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) have been understood by many to mean that the Court within local limits of which the payee Bank i.e. the Bank where the complainant deposited the cheque is situated has the jurisdiction to try the complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act, and the understanding appears to be fortified by the observations of the Supreme Court in paras 15 and 16 that if the 5 acts contemplated as the ingredient of an offence under Section 138 of the NI Act were done in 5 different localities, any one of the court exercising jurisdiction in any one of the 5 local areas would have jurisdiction.

17. But, it is apparent that the observations in para 15 and 16 are an obiter as it is not 5 places where the 5 acts constituting an offence under Section 138 of the NI Act can possibly be performed. The acts can be performed, as would be explained hereinafter, only at 4 places and I would immediately state that act No.2 and act No.3 relate to only one place i.e. the place where the drawee bank is located.

18. The second and the third act, of the 5 listed by the Supreme Court, as constituting the offence under Section 138 of the NI Act are: (a) presentation of the cheque to the bank; and (b) returning the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank.

19. The third act is the return of the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank and thus there is no scope for any argument as to which bank is contemplated with reference to the said act. The second act pertains to the act of presentation of cheque to the bank. I highlight that the twin words used are „the bank‟.

20. In the decision reported as 2001 (3) SCC 609 Shri Ishar Alloy Steels Ltd. Vs. Jayaswals Neco Ltd., a 3 Judge Bench of the Supreme Court, having as a member of the Bench the author of the judgment in Bhaskaran‟s case (supra), dealt with and decided as to what would be meant by „ the bank‟ as mentioned in Section 138 of the NI Act. Was it the drawee bank or the payee bank? The Supreme Court answered the question in the following words:-

"2. (a) What is meant by, "the bank" as mentioned in clause (a) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881?

(b) Does such bank mean the bank of the drawer of the cheque or the payee of the cheque?

(c) To which bank the cheque is to be presented for the purposes of attracting the penal provisions of Section 138 of the Act?, are the questions to be determined by this Court in this appeal.

.....

7. It has further to be noticed that to make an offence under Section 138 of the Act, it is mandatory that the cheque is presented to "the bank" within a period of six months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier. It is the cheque drawn which has to be presented to "the bank" within the period specified therein. When a post- dated cheque is written or drawn, it is only a bill of exchange. The post-dated cheque become a cheque under the Act on the date which is written on the said cheque and the six months' period has to be reckoned, for the purposes of Section 138 of the Act, from the said date.

8. Section 138 provides that where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a "banker" for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by "the bank" unpaid, either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable with imprisonment as prescribed therein subject to the conditions mentioned in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of the proviso. Section 3 of the Act defines the "banker" to include any person acting as a banker and any post office savings bank. Section 72 of the Act provides that a cheque must, in order to charge the drawer, be presented at the bank upon which it is drawn before the relations between the drawer and his banker has been altered to the prejudice of the drawer.

9. The use of the words "a bank" and "the bank" in the section is an indicator of the intention of the legislature. The former is an indirect ( sic indefinite) article and the latter is prefixed by a direct (sic definite) article. If the legislature intended to have the same meanings for "a bank" and "the bank", there was no cause or occasion for mentioning it distinctly and differently by using two different articles. It is worth noticing that the word "banker" in Section 3 of the Act is prefixed by the indefinite article "a" and the word "bank" where the cheque is intended to be presented under Section 138 is prefixed by the definite article "the". The same section permits a person to issue a cheque on an account maintained by him with "a bank" and makes him liable for criminal prosecution if it is returned by "the bank" unpaid. The payment of the cheque is contemplated by "the bank" meaning thereby where the person issuing the cheque has an account. "The" is the word used before nouns, with a specifying or particularising effect as opposed to the indefinite or generalising force of "a" or "an". It determines what particular thing is meant; that is, what particular thing we are to assume to be meant. "The" is always mentioned to denote a particular thing or a person. "The" would, therefore, refer implicitly to a specified bank and not any bank. "The bank" referred to in clause (a) to the proviso to Section 138 of the Act would mean the drawee bank on which the cheque is drawn and not all banks where the cheque is presented for collection including the bank of the payee, in whose favour the cheque is issued.

10. It, however, does not mean that the cheque is always to be presented to the drawer's bank on which the cheque is issued. The payee of the cheque has the option to present the cheque in any bank including the collecting bank where he has his account but to attract the criminal liability of the drawer of the cheque such collecting bank is obliged to present the cheque in the drawee or payee bank on which the cheque is drawn within the period of six months from the date on which it is shown to have been issued.......The non-presentation of the cheque to the drawee bank within the period specified in the section would absolve the person issuing the cheque of his criminal liability under Section 138 of the Act, who shall otherwise may be liable to pay the cheque amount to the payee in a civil action initiated under the law. A combined reading of Sections 3, 72 and 138 of the Act would leave no doubt in our mind that the law mandates the cheque to be presented at the bank on which it is drawn if the drawer is to be held criminally liable. Such presentation is necessarily to be made within six months at the bank on which the cheque is drawn, whether presented personally or through another bank, namely, the collecting bank of the payee." (Emphasis Supplied)

21. Though the decision in Ishar Alloy‟s case (supra) has been rendered in the context of limitation for presentation of a cheque, the said decision brings out in no uncertain terms that Section 138 of the NI Act contemplates that a cheque is required to be presented for encashment to the drawee Bank and that the payee Bank, merely acts as an agent of the payee/complainant for the purposes of presenting the cheque in question for encashment to the drawee Bank.

22. Thus, the 2nd act to which the Supreme Court referred to in Bhaskaran's case as one of the 5 which constitutes the offence under Section 138 of the NI Act was the presentation of the cheque to the drawee bank and needless to state the 3rd act which constitutes an ingredient of the offence is the return of the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank and thus it becomes crystal clear that the 2 nd and 3rd act constituting the offence would relate to only one place i.e. the place where the drawee bank is located.

23. These are my humble reasons to hold that the observations in paras 15 and 16 have to be read as an orbiter and thus the 5 acts contemplated as constituting the offence are capable of being performed not in 5 but only in 4 places and since deposit of the cheque with the payee bank is not an act contemplated as an ingredient of the offence, the place where the payee bank is located would be irrelevant for purposes of determining jurisdiction of the criminal court.

24. It is settled law that a decision is an authority for the point it decides and not what can be logically deduced therefrom and the ratio of a decision has to be gathered with reference to the facts of a case and I just highlight only one decision of the Supreme Court being the decision reported as Dhodha House v S.K. Maingi (2006) 9 SCC 41.

25. The matter regarding jurisdiction can also be decided with reference to Section 6, Section 7, Section 64 and Section 72 of the NI Act.

26. The relevant portion of Section 6, Section 7 and Section 64 of NI Act and Section 72 of the NI Act reads as under:-

Section 6. Cheque: - A ''cheque" is a bill of exchange drawn on a specified banker and not expressed to be payable otherwise than on demand and it includes the electronic image of a truncated cheque and a cheque in the electronic form.

X X X

Section 7. The maker of a bill of exchange or Cheque is called the "drawer"; the person thereby directed to pay is called the "Drawee".

X X X

Section 64. Presentment for payment. -- (1)]Promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques must be presented for payment to the maker, acceptor or drawee thereof respectively, by or on behalf of the holder as hereinafter provided. In default of such presentment, the other parties thereto are not liable thereon to such holder........

X X X

Section 72. Subject to the provisions of section 84 a cheque must, in order to charge the drawer, be presented at the bank upon which it is drawn before the relation between the drawer and his banker has been altered to the prejudice of the drawer.

27. A co-joint reading of Sections 6, 7, 64 and 72 as also of Section 138 of the NI Act brings out that in order to attract penal provisions of Section 138 of the NI Act a cheque is required to be presented for encashment to the drawee Bank and that the payee Bank acts merely as an agent of the payee/complainant for the purposes of presenting the cheque in question to the drawee Bank. The necessary corollary thereof is that no part of cause of action for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the NI Act arises in the Court within the local limits of which the collecting Bank of the complainant i.e. payee Bank is situated and thus said Court has no jurisdiction to try a complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act filed by the complainant.

28. This takes me to the consideration of second question involved in the present case i.e. whether the court within the local limits of which the place from where the complainant had sent a notice contemplated under proviso (b) appended to Section 138 of the NI Act is situated has the jurisdiction to try a complaint filed under Section 138 of the NI Act.

29. I have already noted the observations made by the Supreme Court in Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) in the foregoing paras and would highlight that in paras 17 to 23 the Supreme Court has reflected upon the limitation within which the notice has to be given to the accused. The Supreme Court was considering the expression „giving a notice‟ in proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act, with reference to the 15 days‟ time contemplated then by which the requisite notice had to be served, which time is now 30 days.

30. Another decision of the Supreme Court, reported as (2009) 1 SCC 720 Harman Electronics Private Limited v National Panasonic India Private Limited is worth noting on the subject.

31. In Harman‟s case (supra) the question which had arisen before the Supreme Court was precisely the same question which arises for consideration in the present petition i.e. whether the court within the local limits of which the place from where the complainant had sent a notice contemplated under proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act is situated has the jurisdiction to try a complaint filed under Section 138 of the NI Act. Answering the aforesaid question in the negative, the Supreme Court observed as under:-

"12. .....The only question, therefore, which arises for consideration is that as to whether sending of notice from Delhi itself would give rise to a cause of action for taking cognizance under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

13. It is one thing to say that sending of a notice is one of the ingredients for maintaining the complaint but it is another thing to say that dishonour of a cheque by itself constitutes an offence. For the purpose of proving its case that the accused had committed an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the ingredients thereof are required to be proved. What would constitute an offence is stated in the main provision. The proviso appended thereto, however, imposes certain further conditions which are required to be fulfilled before cognizance of the offence can be taken. If the ingredients for constitution of the offence laid down in provisos (a), (b) and (c) appended to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act are intended to be applied in favour of the accused, there cannot be any doubt that receipt of a notice would ultimately give rise to the cause of action for filing a complaint. As it is only on receipt of the notice that the accused at his own peril may refuse to pay the amount. Clauses (b) and (c) of the proviso to Section 138 therefore must be read together. Issuance of notice would not by itself give rise to a cause of action but communication of the notice would.

.......For constitution of an offence under Section 138 of the Act, the notice must be received by the accused. It may be deemed to have been received in certain situations. The word "communicate" inter alia means "to make known, inform, convey, etc".

.....

20. ..... A court derives a jurisdiction only when the cause of action arose within its jurisdiction. The same cannot be conferred by any act of omission or commission on the part of the accused. A distinction must also be borne in mind between the ingredient of an offence and commission of a part of the offence. While issuance of a notice by the holder of a negotiable instrument is necessary, service thereof is also imperative. Only on a service of such notice and failure on the part of the accused to pay the demanded amount within a period of 15 days thereafter, the commission of an offence completes. Giving of notice, therefore, cannot have any precedent over the service. It is only from that view of the matter that in Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. v. Galaxy Traders & Agencies Ltdemphasis has been laid on service of notice." (Emphasis Supplied)

32. At a first blush reading of the decisions of the Supreme Court in Bhaskaran and Harman‟s cases (supra) it may strike to the reader that there is a conflict between the two decisions inasmuch as in Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) it was held that the expression „giving of notice‟ occurring in proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act means „sending of notice‟ whereas in Harman‟s case (supra) it was held that the said expression means „receipt of notice‟.

33. A careful reading of the two decisions shows that there is no conflict between the said decisions inasmuch as they have been rendered in different contexts. The decision in Bhaskaran‟s case (supra) was rendered in the context of starting point of limitation period of 15 days prescribed in proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act and it was in that context i.e. the context of limitation that it was held by the Supreme Court that the expression giving of notice‟ occurring in proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act means „sending of notice‟. The decision in Harman‟s case (supra) was rendered in the context of cause of action for filing a complaint under Section 138 NI Act within jurisdiction of a particular court and in that context it was held by the Supreme Court that the expression giving of notice‟ occurring in proviso (b) to Section 138 of the NI Act means „receipt of notice‟.

34. Now, same expression can have different meanings in different context as held by the Supreme Court in the decision reported as Malik Lal Majumdar v Gouranga Chandra Dey (2004) 12 SCC 448 wherein it was observed that a word occurring in a statutory provision can have different meanings in different context within the same statute.

35. Thus, the inevitable conclusion would be that the 4 th act contemplated as an ingredient of the offence as highlighted in Bhaskaran‟s case i.e. „giving notice in writing to the drawer of cheque‟ demanding payment of the cheque amount, for purposes of limitation would have a meaning as explained in Bhaskaran‟s case and for purposes of jurisdiction would have a meaning as explained in Ishar Alloy‟s case (supra).

36. Before concluding I would be failing not to lodge a caveat. With electronic banking and facility payable at par of clearance provided by bankers and especially in metropolitan cities, where cheques are cleared by not being presented to the drawee bank but at nodal branches of the concerned banks, the subject matter of jurisdiction may have to be decided keeping in view that the drawee bank has created an agency where the cheque in question is transmitted for clearance and the situs where the clearance takes place would then arguably become the place where the cheque would be required to be treated as presented to „the bank‟ i.e. the drawee bank. But, in such circumstances, properly constituted pleadings have to be found in a complaint and lodging the caveat, I leave it at that for the debate to be properly argued in an appropriate case with the necessary relevant pleadings.

Refusal to Defend and Duties of Advocates : The Law

Justice Markandey Katju
Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court in A.S. Mohammed Rafi Vs. State of Tamil Nadu Rep. By Home Dept. has deprecated the practice of Bar Associations passing resolutions thereby directing advocates not to represent a certain person or class of persons. The Bench, while highlighting the duties of an advocate, have held that such practices / resolutions are wholly illegal, against all traditions of the bar, and against professional ethics. The relevant extracts are reproduced hereinbelow;

14. Before parting with this case, we would like to comment upon a matter of great legal and constitutional importance which has caused us deep distress in this case. It appears that the Bar Association of Coimbatore passed a resolution that no member of the Coimbatore Bar will defend the accused policemen in the criminal case against them in this case. 

15. Several Bar Association all over India, whether High Court Bar Associations or District Court Bar Associations have passed resolutions that they will not defend a particular person or persons in a particular criminal case. Sometimes there are clashes between policemen and lawyers, and the Bar Association passes a resolution that no one will defend the policemen in the criminal case in court. Similarly, sometimes the Bar Association passes a resolution that they will not defend a person who is alleged to be a terrorist or a person accused of a brutal or heinous crime or involved in a rape case. 

16. In our opinion, such resolutions are wholly illegal, against all traditions of the bar, and against professional ethics. Every person, however, wicked, depraved, vile, degenerate, perverted, loathsome, execrable, vicious or repulsive he may be regarded by society has a right to be defended in a court of law and correspondingly it is the duty of the lawyer to defend him. 

17. We may give some historical examples in this connection. 

18. When the great revolutionary writer Thomas Paine was jailed and tried for treason in England in 1792 for writing his famous pamphlet `The Rights of Man' in defence of the French Revolution the great advocate Thomas Erskine (1750-1823) was briefed to defend him. Erskine was at that time the Attorney General for the Prince of Wales and he was warned that if he accepts the brief, he would be dismissed from office. Undeterred, Erskine accepted the brief and was dismissed from office. 

19. However, his immortal words in this connection stand out as a shining light even today : 

"From the moment that any advocate can be permitted to say that he will or will not stand between the Crown and the subject arraigned in court where he daily sits to practice, from that moment the liberties of England are at an end. If the advocate refuses to defend from what he may think of the charge or of the defence, he assumes the character of the Judge; nay he assumes it before the hour of the judgment; and in proportion to his rank and reputation puts the heavy influence of perhaps a mistaken opinion into the scale against the accused in whose favour the benevolent principles of English law make all assumptions, and which commands the very Judge to be his Counsel" 

20. Indian lawyers have followed this great tradition. The revolutionaries in Bengal during British rule were defended by our lawyers, the Indian communists were defended in the Meerut conspiracy case, Razakars of Hyderabad were defended by our lawyers, Sheikh Abdulah and his co-accused were defended by them, and so were some of the alleged assassins of Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. In recent times, Dr. Binayak Sen has been defended. No Indian lawyer of repute has ever shirked responsibility on the ground that it will make him unpopular or that it is personally dangerous for him to do so. It was in this great tradition that the eminent Bombay High Court lawyer Bhulabhai Desai defended the accused in the I.N.A. trials in the Red Fort at Delhi (November 1945 - May 1946). 

21. However, disturbing news is coming now from several parts of the country where bar associations are refusing to defend certain accused persons. 

22. The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution states "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right .......to have the assistance of counsel for his defence". 

23. In Powell vs. Alabama 287 US 45 1932 the facts were that nine illiterate young black men, aged 13 to 21, were charged with the rape of two white girls on a freight train passing through Tennessee and Alabama. Their trial was held in Scottsboro, Alabama, where community hostility to blacks was intense. The trial judge appointed all members of the local bar to serve as defense counsel. When the trial began, no attorney from the local bar appeared to represent the defendants. The judge, on the morning of the trial, appointed a local lawyer who undertook the task with reluctance. The defendants were convicted. They challenged their convictions, arguing that they were effectively denied aid of counsel because they did not have the opportunity to consult with their lawyer and prepare a defense. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed. Writing for the court, Mr. Justice George Sutherland explained : 

"It is hardly necessary to say that the right to counsel being conceded, a defendant should be afforded afair opportunity to secure counsel of his own choice. Not only was that not done here, but such designation of counsel as was attempted was either so indefinite or so close upon the trial as to amount to a denial of effective and substantial aid....." 

24. In the same decision Justice Sutherland observed: 

"What, then, does a hearing include? Historically and in practice, in our own country at least, it has always included the right to the aid of counsel when desired and provided by the party asserting the right. The right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with crime, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence. If that be true of men of intelligence, how much more true is it of the ignorant and illiterate, or those of feeble intellect. If in any case, civil or criminal, a state or federal court were arbitrarily to refuse to hear a party by counsel, employed by and appearing for him, it reasonably may not be doubted that such a refusal would be a denial of a hearing, and, therefore, of due process in the constitutional sense". 

25. In this connection we may also refer to the legendry American lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857-1930) who was strongly of the view that every accused, no matter how wicked, loathsome, vile or repulsive he may be regarded by society has the right to be defended in court. Most lawyers in America refused to accept the briefs of such apparently wicked and loathsome persons, e.g. brutal killers, terrorists, etc. but Clarence Darrow would accept their briefs and defend them, because he was firmly of the view that every persons has the right to be defended in court, and correspondingly it was the duty of the lawyer to defend. His defences in various trials of such vicious, repulsive and loathsome persons became historical, and made him known in America as the `Attorney for the Damned', (because he took up the cases of persons who were regarded so vile, depraved and despicable by society that they had already been condemned by public opinion) and he became a legend in America (see his biography `Attorney for the Damned'). 

26. In Re Anastaplo, 366 US 82 (1961), Mr. Justice Hugo Black of the US Supreme Court in his dissenting judgment praised Darrow and said : 

"Men like Lord Erskine, James Otis, Clarence Darrow, and a multitude of others have dared to speak in defense of causes and clients without regard to personal danger to themselves. The legal profession will lose much of its nobility and its glory if it is not constantly replenished with lawyers like these. To force the Bar to become a group of thoroughly orthodox, time-serving, government-fearing individuals is to humiliate and degrade it." 

27. At the Nuremberg trials, the Nazi war criminals responsible for killing millions of people were yet defended by lawyers. 

28. We may also refer to the fictional American lawyer Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's famous novel `To Kill a Mocking Bird'. In this novel Atticus Finch courageously defended a black man who was falsely charged in the State of Alabama for raping a white woman, which was a capital offence in that State. Despite the threats of violence to him and his family by the racist white population in town, and despite social ostracism by the predominant while community, Atticus Finch bravely defended that black man (though he was ultimately convicted and hanged because the jury was racist and biased), since he believed that everyone has a right to be defended. This novel inspired many young Americans to take up law as a profession in America. 

29. The following words of Atticus Finch will ring throughout in history : 

"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It is knowing you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." 

30. In our own country, Article 22(1) of the Constitution states : 

"No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for which arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice". 

31. Chapter II of the Rules framed by the Bar Council of India states about `Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette', as follows : 

"An advocate is bound to accept any brief in the Courts or Tribunals or before any other authorities in or before which he proposes to practice at a fee consistent with his standing at the Bar and the nature of the case. Special circumstances may justify his refusal to accept a particular brief". 

32. Professional ethics requires that a lawyer cannot refuse a brief, provided a client is willing to pay his fee, and the lawyer is not otherwise engaged. Hence, the action of any Bar Association in passing such a resolution that none of its members will appear for a particular accused, whether on the ground that he is a policeman or on the ground that he is a suspected terrorist, rapist, mass murderer, etc. is against all norms of the Constitution, the Statute and professional ethics. It is against the great traditions of the Bar which has always stood up for defending persons accused for a crime. Such a resolution is, in fact, a disgrace to the legal community. We declare that all such resolutions of Bar Associations in India are null and void and the right minded lawyers should ignore and defy such resolutions if they want democracy and rule of law to be upheld in this country. It is the duty of a lawyer to defend no matter what the consequences, and a lawyer who refuses to do so is not following the message of the Gita. 

33. The Registry of this Court will circulate copies of this judgment/order to all High Court Bar Associations and State Bar Councils in India. The High Court Bar Associations are requested to circulate the judgment/order to all the District Court Bar Associations in their States/Union territories.