Recently a Supreme Court judge expressed concern about the huge time taken by lawyers in making oral submissions. The judge, in one case, fixed the time scheduled for each lawyer to argue their matter. The judge deplored the practice of arguments going on for hours in a single case and sought to be enlightened if there was any other country which allowed this practice. This is Raju Z. Moray’s poetic take inspired by this incident.
——
Milords committed
What’s almost a crime
By asking Men in Black
To restrict talk time.
In a firm bid to tackle
The problem of arrears
Milords have erected
Some time barriers.
Adopting foreign tips
For speeding up cases
Milords put new ideas
Before grumpy old faces.
By seeking citations
Relevant and recent
Milords did nothing
Remotely indecent.
But those who love
Hearing their own voice
Are not too happy
With Milords’ choice.
They love our tradition
Of date after date
And a comfortable life
Hanging on client’s fate.
In this noble profession
We treasure our nobility
Hoary traditions help
To cover lack of ability.
The fuel in our practice
(More than half the fun)
Is taking the client for a ride
As long as our meter can run.
(Raju Z. Moray is a Mumbai-based lawyer who enjoys writing poems. He is the author of two books ‘Court Jester’, 2017 and ‘The Locked Down Lawyer’, 2020.)