“Scams which have come in light only exemplify the malpractices at top level” says Ram Jethmalani
8th March, 2013 New Delhi: “Lawyers have lost the courage to speak the truth and this has turned out to be the biggest problem of Indian legal system. Corruption has increased manifold in almost every walk of life over the past few years and a series of scams which have come in light only exemplify the malpractices at top level. Now the time has come when lawyers must speak the truth whenever it is required” these were the views of Mr. Ram Jethmalani, which he opined during the seminar of National Bar Association of India.
The seminar was organized on 8th March in the capital to discuss the key issues of Budget 2013 and ethics in legal profession. A broader range of issues such as taxation, General Tax Anti-avoidance Rule (GAAR), challenges before Indian economy and ethics in Indian legal system were discussed during the event.
Initiating the discussion, Mr. Krishan Malhotra, Head of taxation of Northern Region at Amarchand Mangaldas and Shroff and company, India’s largest law firm, presented a graphic presentation on the direct taxation policy of government of India while, he also briefed the delegates about the GAAR and tax policy of India viz. a viz. international norms.
Explaining the need of consumer protection law Mr. Bejon Mishra, a pioneer in consumer protection movement in India said, while there are lots of policies made to protect the rights of consumers, they fall miserably when it comes about deliverables. The objective behind such law is to make consumer stronger and provide them with a suitable tool to fight for their rights.
Addressing the delegation Sujit Ghosh, expert of taxation said, “budget this year was meant to appease the people as it was a budget year and it was no surprise that Mr. Chidambaram had very little to offer in terms of economic revival. The government could have reduced the tax to increase the consumption and boost the demand but it did not happen as the government was left with very little headroom given the pessimistic environment of economy.”
Delivering a concluding address, Dr. Subhash Kasyap said, “bars once used to stand for truth while now they seems to have lost this objective as it lacks the courage to speak the truth.” He also briefed delegates about National Bar Association while suggesting several ways to improve the state of Indian bars and the way they practice.