Atsung Imchen: I don't have much information on what is the process and what goes on underneath before you become a fully independent advocate/lawyer but as per what I am aware, right after your classroom stage is over all of you rush to find shelter under the wing of a well-known advocate/lawyer who is well experienced and part of the "system".
Regardless of whether this is mandatory to go through, this process seems too rigid because you literally do not get paid when you are going through this stage (depends on the person you're working for) and the fact that not everyone wants to go out of state (financial or personal reasons) nor everyone will get the opportunity to work under an experienced professional.
That being said, the only law college in the state which I am sure is in a pity state like any other Government run institution, though the condition it somehow manages to deliver new batches of aspiring candidates. As of now you guys fall under the category of resources which are not fully utilized.
The suggestion here is, instead of being part of the same old cycle which is going on for ages, I would suggest to take the example of how things are done in America where a nobody can take 'somebody' to the court. The same is applicable here too since the law is pretty much the same. Instead of making yourself available only for those hot shots or dreaming about landing a client who is going to make you a millionaire overnight you can exploit the area where it will not only be beneficial for you but for the general common man as well.
Currently the common man cannot afford you guys because you derive your concept of working from someone who has been part of the same old 'System' and that concept is basically waiting for the Gold fish. When you make yourself available to the common man it will contribute a lot in improving the pity situation we are all in. From Private run organizations to Govt. run institution there are lot of injustice that is going on, maybe it’s due to lack of awareness or high fees the common man do not see justice in Courts.
For example, tomorrow a person is denied a seat in a Taxi or NST even after he bought the ticket and has literally all the proof to show, this issue will die off without justice being served in Nagaland. If it was in the States, like the recent case with United Airlines, it will be a piece of cake for the victim to sue them and fairly compensated for the damage. All this is possible because availability of lawyers, advocates is not as hard as it is here. It’s not because the law does not provision us the same right, we have the same right it’s just because we are not utilizing it as they are.
If I am not wrong there is an Association for lawyers; thinking progressively on this subject matter will usher a better future not just for you but for the public also. Instead of concentrating on how much fees you will charge, it will be more beneficial if you look at the contingent fee. Through this you will not only help curb the menace of unfair treatments we see so often but also contribute a lot in controlling the cancer in our state that is Corruption.
Ati Chatilar: Just in brief let me highlight about NSLSA (Nagaland State Legal Services Authority). In every district we have the Legal Services Authority. In Dimapur, the DDLSA front office is in the ground floor of District Court, adjacent to DC office. Now there is around 16 panel lawyers and a retainer lawyer with the District & sessions judge as the chairman and the Chief Judicial Magistrate as the Secretary of the Dimapur District Legal Services Authority. Now what we panel lawyers do is we give free legal services to those people who cannot afford to hire an advocate. We don’t charge even a Rupee for any works done for the poor and needy & for those who seek justice. We also give legal awareness seminars/ programs the whole year round to different groups and societies within Dimapur jurisdiction. Under DDLSA there are Para-legal volunteers too. Trainings are provided to them from time to time. Members those who are interested can join too, if you can sacrifice a little time to work for the betterment of our society. You will be working hand in hand with the panel lawyers. You will be assisted by a panel when the need arises. Please do, anyone is welcome to come and give a visit to the DDLSA front office and get first hand information of our working system. When there are some who want to be rich over night by extracting money from clients there are still some few who work tirelessly sacrificing one’s own time and money for the happiness & betterment of another person. Please keep encouraging us by showing your support. Let’s work with one heart to uproot the dirt that’s eating away our Naga society. Visit us on working days for any assistance. We will be there to help you willingly. Good day everyone.
Action at work in times of hardships (Acknowledgement from the Naga blog team)
Petevi Meyase: I really felt sorry for travellers who missed/ lost their way today with the ongoing repair work in the Highway 29 at Peducha (Lalmati). Today the travellers between Kohima and Dimapur were diverted from Peducha to Tsiesema and Zubza to Kiruphema respectively. This was published in newspapers too.
Today as I was on way to my farm from Zubza towards Sechuma village I met a lot of cars wandering along the jungle road trying to find their way to Dimapur, some innocently driving down towards the same diversion point where they were diverted from the highway. Those who I met I showed them the way, some I stop them and enquired and came to know that are going back to the diversion point. This must have happened to hundreds of cars, I assume, since I myself met 20, 30 cars in such situation. Although the diversion was unavoidable the inconvenience can be avoided. As I went further up cars were still coming down the wrong way and had to turn back.
I reached the junction from where most cars were going down the wrong way, villagers themselves had put up some ordinary direction boards to guide the travellers but unless one is familiar with the roads and villages around here it will be hard to get the right direction from these sign boards to new travellers is what I found. Noticing this I tried to change the position of the sign boards and tried to give a direction sign for Dimapur bound travellers, luckily I found some charcoal and overwrote over a village name but with rains the charcoal easily got washed so as I found a name tag bag in my car with that small bag I made a safer small sign board. This is not to blow my trumpet in anyway, dear friends. I just want to request the department concerned and our government to be more responsible towards the public.
With most of monsoon rain ahead these small link roads have to be kept pliable for us. Just in a day the kacha link road from Zubza to Peducha has appeared dangerously slippery. Some signboards urgently need to be put up in junctions to avoid similar inconvenience. These are our lifeline.
The articles in this column are compiled by The Naga Blog administrators.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Naga Blog.
