Bombay High Court rejects challenge to rules governing appearance of litigants as party-in-person

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday rejected a petition by a former judicial officer challenging the the rules governing the appearance of litigants as parties-in-person (instead of engaging lawyers to represent them) before the Court [Naresh Vaze v. High Court of Bombay & Anr]..The petition had challenged the Rules for Presentation and Conduct of Proceedings by Parties-in-Person, 2015.However, a Division Bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain found that the rules were merely regulatory in nature and did not prevent any litigant or party from appearing in person. “We do not find that the said Rules in any manner prevent a party from appearing in person. The bar is not absolute. The said Rules are merely regulatory in nature, the said Rules are not prohibitive in nature so as to offend the provisions of Articles 14 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. They have been framed to enable presentation and conduct of proceedings by a party-in-person smoothly to facilitate the administration of justice," the May 7 judgment said. .The petitioner, Naresh Vaze, a law graduate and a former judicial officer approached the High Court in 2016 challenging a 2015 notification containing the Rules for Presentation and Conduct of Proceedings in Person by Parties.These rules required a party to appear before the committee of two officers of the High Court registry if they were unwilling or unable to appoint a lawyer.The committee has to interact with the proposed party-in-person and file a report indicating whether that person would be able to give necessary assistance to the court or whether a lawyer should be appointed as an amicus in the case..Vaze argued that the rules prevented a litigant from appearing as party-in-person before the Court. He added that a party litigating a case cannot be denied the right of an audience from the Court at the threshold of litigation as it offends Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution..The Court, however, observed that the rules only regulated the mode and manner in which a party-in-person should appear and argue a case.“The modalities prescribed are with an object that the time of the Court while hearing a party-in-person is not spent on unnecessary details and that the party-in-person is found broadly in a position to render necessary assistance to the Court for deciding his/her matter," the Court added..In view of these observations, the Court concluded that there was no need to set aside the 2015 notification and rejected Vaze’s petition..The petitioner, Naresh Govind Vaze appeared party-in-person.Advocate Rahul Nerlekar appeared for the High Court Registrar.Additional government pleaders NC Walimbe and SP Shetye appeared for State along with State of Maharashtra..[Read Judgment]