Why the 2-page order by GS Patel J. encapsulates one of the biggest problems with the Indian legal system

Nine times out of ten, the first reaction would be that of joviality. It may span only two pages, but there is plenty of word play to elicit a smile from even the most disgruntled, of which there are many in the legal world. Yet, that is not all there is to it..But first the facts. The Bombay High Court’s Gautam Patel J was hearing a suit involving GoAir and Indigo. The dispute centres over the use of the word “go” in Indigo’s website (goindigo.in); more specifically the “go” before the “indigo”, and not, as Patel J notes, the “go” at the end of “indigo”. .On this particular aspect, the Judge says that this is, .“[A] a small mercy as it happens, for that might be a demand that Indigo should be rechristened Indi.”.Strike one..The tiff is not only restricted to Indigo; Google India too has been arraigned as a defendant, “for reasons that are presently unclear”. Thankfully, this has nothing to do with the fact that Google is spelt with a “go”; otherwise, as the judge notes, “we might otherwise be forced to ogle the Web.”.Strike Two..For the rest of the judgment, the letters “go” are italicised wherever they find mention. Patel J is clearly having some fun..But this is not all. Comical though it is, the order also highlights the growing bulk of today’s pleadings. In the present case, for example, the filings in the notice of motion have reached four hundred and forty-one pages. The last filing was a sur-rejoinder, which in itself is pushing it. But, as the order reveals, not only will a sur-sur-rejoinder be filed, but there is a high probability of a sur-sur-sur-rejoinder being filed..Strike three..Which is where the jokes should end..The fact of the matter is that filings are becoming bulkier by the day. It is not uncommon for “heavy” matters to have four, five, six volumes, with “compilations” that run into hundreds of pages. .Part of this, of course, has to do with technological advances in word processing. As veteran lawyer Raju Moray notes in this fascinating interview, filings written in hand were naturally short and concise. On his senior, he said,.“He used to write by hand, so the brevity was there; otherwise your hand will start hurting.”.Senior counsel Navroz Seervai too had something similar to share on his early days in the chambers of Atul Setalvad..Lawyers were forced to be economical with their words simply because there was no other option..However, with the rise of word processing software (probably one of the few technologies that lawyers leaped at), this constraint was removed. Add the internet and easy access to case laws, and you now had the situation where the only real constraint was the budgetary allocation for xerox and printing costs. .And the higher the stakes, the more voluminous the filings; the cynic would argue that lawyers and law firms need to justify the premium rates that they charge after all. Be that as it may, in all the chatter about pendency due to lack of judges (an argument that has its own flaws), what often escapes attention is the unnecessary bulk of filings. Not only do they increase the number of judicial man-hours needed for one particular case, but they can act like deadweight on a judicial infrastructure that is already reaching breaking point..Limiting the page count is something that (ideally) should require no legislation, no policy change nor any sort of overhaul. All it requires is the will of the Bar.