Efficiency in litigation does not mean speed. Courts in India move at their own pace and no advocate controls the cause list. What can be controlled is everything that happens before a matter reaches the court, and everything that happens between one date and the next.
Preparation before filing, not after.
A large proportion of the delay in Indian litigation is not caused by the court. It is caused by matters that were filed before they were ready — a document that had to be obtained afterwards, an affidavit that had to be corrected, a party who was not joined and had to be added on an application.
Each of those costs a date, and a date in a district court is rarely a matter of days. We would rather take a fortnight longer to file a matter that is complete than file quickly and spend six months repairing it.
Documents obtained early.
Certified copies of revenue records, registry documents, jamabandis and court files take time to obtain, and the time is not predictable. Where a matter is likely to require them, we begin that process at the outset rather than when the court asks.
For clients abroad this matters more than for anyone else, because a document that has to be collected from a record room in Ambala cannot be arranged from Vancouver at short notice.
Dates used rather than spent.
Adjournments in Indian litigation are frequently unavoidable and sometimes tactically necessary. What is avoidable is the adjournment sought because our own side was not ready.
Where a date is listed for evidence, we intend to lead evidence. Where it is listed for arguments, we intend to argue. That is a lower bar than it sounds, and it is the difference between a suit that concludes and one that does not.
Interim relief where it is needed.
The most important question in many property matters is not how long the case will take but whether the property can be protected while it runs. An injunction restraining a sale, a transfer or a construction is often worth more to a client than the decree that follows years later.
Where interim protection is available we will say so at the first meeting and seek it promptly. Once a third party has acquired rights in the property, the matter becomes substantially harder and considerably longer.
What we will not promise.
We do not give a date by which a case will conclude, because nobody can. An advocate who does is either guessing or telling you what you want to hear, and you will remember the promise long after they have forgotten making it.
What we will tell you is what the stages are, what each ordinarily takes in the court where your matter is listed, what is likely to cause delay, and what can realistically be done about it.
