Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
About Forum Shopping:
- It is a deliberate attempt by petitioners or lawyers to relocate their case to a specific judge or Court where they believe the judgment may be more favorable.
- It is also known as ‘Bench hunting’.
How it can affect the Judicial System:
- It may result in unfairness for the opposing side and unbalance the burden of several courts.
- It can foster a sense of bias or favoritism affecting judicial legitimacy.
- The natural justice concept, which mandates that everyone receive a fair hearing before an impartial judge, may be compromised.
- Principle of Comity may be affected which requires that courts should not pass an order which would be in conflict with another order.
- Finality Principle is also affected which states that a lawsuit should finish at some point and not go on indefinitely.
Judiciary Observations on Forum Shopping:
- 1988 Chetak Construction Ltd. vs. Om Prakash: SC said A litigant cannot be permitted a choice of the forum, and attempt at forum shopping must be discouraged.
- 2022 Vijay Kumar Ghai vs. State of W.B: SC termed forum shopping as a disreputable practice by the courts that has no sanction and paramountcy in law.
- 2023 Dr. Khair-Un-Nisa and Ors vs. UT of Jammu and Kashmir and Ors: The petitioners were fined one lakh rupees by the J & K High Court for engaging in forum shopping by submitting many petitions to various branches of the court while maintaining the same claim.
Why in news?
- Recently, CJI Chandrachud condemned forum shopping done by litigants.
