INTRODUCTION
On today’s show, we will discuss
the case of Shakuntala Shukla v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Another,
2021 SCC OnLine SC 672, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court discussed the meaning
of “judgment” at length.
BACKGROUND
The brief background of the case is
that a High Court had granted bail to a person pending his criminal appeal
without dealing with the contentions of the parties. Such judgment and order
granting bail was challenged before the Supreme Court on the ground that the
affidavits and contentions of the state have neither been dealt with nor have
been referred to in the impugned judgment. In this regard, the Supreme Court discussed
the meaning of ‘judgment’. The facts of the case are not relevant for the
purposes of this show and hence, the same are not being discussed. Now, let us
go through the pertinent observations by the Supreme Court.
OBSERVATIONS BY THE COURT
Firstly, the Court observed that “Judgment
means a judicial opinion which tells the story of the case; what the case is
about; how the court is resolving the case and why. “Judgment” is defined as
any decision given by a court on a question or questions or issue between the
parties to a proceeding properly before court. It is also defined as the
decision or the sentence of a court in a legal proceeding along with the
reasoning of a judge which leads him to his decision. The term “judgment” is
loosely used as judicial opinion or decision.”
Secondly, the Court discussed four
purposes for any judgment: -
a. To spell out the thoughts of the
judge;
b. To explain decision of the judge
to the parties;
c. To communicate the reasons for
the decision to the public; and
d. To provide reasons for an appellate
court to consider.
Thirdly, the Court noted that “it
is not adequate that a decision is accurate, it must also be reasonable,
logical and easily comprehensible. The judicial opinion is to be written in
such a way that it elucidates in a convincing manner and proves the fact that
the verdict is righteous and judicious. What the court says, and how it says
it, is equally important as what the court decides.”
Fourthly, the Court also discussed
the four basic elements of a judgment. A judgment should contain: -
1. Statement of material (relevant)
facts.
2. Legal issues or questions.
3. deliberation to reach a decision.
4. Ratio or conclusive decision.
Fifthly, apart from the
afore-stated elements, the Court also spelled out various other elements that a
judgment should contain such as Caption, Case number and citation, Facts, Issues,
Summary of arguments by both the parties, Application of law, Final conclusive
verdict etc.
Sixthly, the Court opined that a
judgment must be written with care and its reasoning should be logical.
Further, “all conclusions should be supported by reasons duly recorded.”
According to the Court, though it is true that judges are overburdened, yet “quality
can never be sacrificed for quantity” as a judgment that is not clear
will get overruled at a later point of time.
And lastly, the Court noted that “there
must be a clarity on the final relief granted” as a litigant must know
what he has actually got in the final relief and such clarity in judgments
would also ensure that burden of the Appellate Courts is reduced. “A
judgment has to formulate findings of fact, it has to decide what the relevant
principles of law are, and it has to apply those legal principles to the facts.”
Those were the observations by the
Court. So, what are my concluding remarks?
CONCLUDING REMARKS
It is a travesty of justice that
judgments get passed without even following the basic elements that a judgment
should contain. The Supreme Court rightly observed that quality can never be
sacrificed for quantity. In the name of pendency of cases, judgments cannot be passed
in a casual and lackadaisical manner that ultimately get overruled by the
higher courts. The Supreme Court has beautifully and succinctly explained the
basic elements of a judgment. I hope that the courts below peruse this judgment
and strictly adhere to the guidelines provided in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment