Rs 3.5 lakh: Cost of a Bengal villager's legal battle to save her husband
NEW DELHI: The extent to which the legal system can take the poor and the ignorant for a ride, fleecing and exploiting them in the process, came to light when Supreme Court decided to find out the legal expenses of a woman from a small village in West Bengal in her fight to protect her husband.
Shocking details emerged: she paid a tout who promised to secure bail and an additional amount to an advocate 'for winning the case'.
The woman, who lives in a ramshackle dwelling with a tarpaulin sheet for a roof and no doors, ended up spending Rs 3.5 lakh from the trial court to the SC, which admitted that the legal system had failed her. The man was sentenced to 20 years by a Pocso court for having a physical relationship with the woman when she was a minor, and she fought to get him released.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan had appointed a committee to interact with the woman and the panel filed a report in a sealed envelope. In its judgment, the bench mentioned the findings of the panel which said she was now in a debt trap.
"She had to run from pillar to post... She spent large amounts by way of payment of fees to lawyers for his release. The amount she spent as noted in the final report of the committee are startling," it said.
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Case an eye-opener for everyone, shows lacunae in legal system: SC
At different stages, the woman paid a total of Rs 40,000 to advocates. In addition, she claims to have paid a sum of Rs 10,000 to an advocate 'for winning the case'. She spent a sum of Rs 20,000 to get copies of the chargesheet and Rs 7,000 for getting duplicate copies of court papers, court said.
She paid Rs 18,000 to a tout who promised to get bail for her husband.
Thus, she ended up spending over Rs 2 lakh (in trial court proceedings) by incurring debt for defending the accused. In fact, the committee records that the indebtedness has become vicious, the court said in its verdict.
The woman had to approach high court and had to bear additional expenses of nearly Rs 1.4 lakh. As the apex court appointed two leading senior advocates as amici to assist the bench, she did not have to pay much in the SC.
"The figures stated make it obvious that she has been exploited. This is evident from the fact that she had to pay Rs 60,000 for grant of bail, Rs 25,000 for securing acquittal, Rs 15,000 for filing a case in this court and Rs 25,000 towards air fare, to enable her husband's advocate to appear before this court," the bench said.
The top court said that the family is very poor and staying in a temporary shelter enclosed by brick walls, but the roof is of tarpaulin with no door.
It said the facts of this case were an eye-opener for everyone as it highlighted the lacunae in the legal system which failed her. "In this case, the society, the family of the victim and the legal system have done enough injustice to the victim," the bench said.
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