Karnataka HC: Judgments should not be written with a pen dipped in acid

Automated compliance and legal drafting

The Karnataka High Court removed a portion of an order passed by the Commissioner of Customs that made certain adverse observations on the manner in which a case was argued by a lawyer.

MS Srinivasa v. Union of India

Single Judge Bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit said that “judgement and orders should not be written in a pen dipped in acid”.

“…it hardly needs to be stated that judgments and orders should not be written with a pen dipped in acid; after all ‘acidity’ affects health; the acidic words rob away the living beauty of the scripts…”

In the case, the petitioner sought expungement of a part of the order passed by the Commissioner of Customs.

“The objective of imposing a penalty of Rs.15000/- is only to impress upon the appellant that they ought to be more careful in future and do justice to their role and duties rather than take shelter behind technicalities and advocates who think they can defend the indefensible by giving their own skewed understanding of the law and misguiding appellants.” said the order.

The Bench granted a reprieve to the petitioner, reasoning that a lawyer has a duty to the court, to their client and to the profession, and even has privileges.

Read Judgement