TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

INTERNSHIP DIARY

Student Name: A.Manoranjan Reg. No: BC0150014

Date: 28.08.2017

Year of study: 3rd year

Internship type: Advocate

Email: adsebastin@gmail.com

Mobile: 9380811011

Place of internship: Madras high court

Period of Internship: 1 month (01.06.17- 2.07.17)

Internship Approved/Internship NOT Approved:

External supervisor certificate submitted

Internship diary submitted

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 DECLARATION FORM

This internship diary is a presentation of my original research work. The work was done under
the guidance of Mr. Sabastian, Senior Advocate at Madras High court.

Date: 28.08.2017 [Student’s name and signature]

A.Manoranjan

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 INTERNSHIP DIARY
TAMILNADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL,
TIRUCHIRAPPALLI.

Under the guidance of Mr. Sabastian,

Advocate, Chennai High Court,
For the duration 01/06/2017 to 2/07/2017

Submitted by
A.Manoranjan
3rd Year, B.Com. LL.B (Hons.)
BC0150014

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 MAIN TASKS (WEEKLY BASIS)

WEEK- 1:

I have been at my internship for nearly a month. Now it feels like I just started yesterday,
but when I think about everything accomplished and learned, and the new relationships i have
formed, I realize how long it’s been. On the first day of my internship, I went to my advocate’s
office. I was interning under a High Court advocate, Mr. S. Sebastian, who is both a civil and
criminal lawyer, as it was my first day, he taught me some basis legal terms which are used
inside the court.

Terms which he taught are:-

 Adjudication - A decision or sentence imposed by a judge.

 Affidavit – A written statement made under oath, swearing to the truth of the contests of
a document.
 Amicus curiae brief – A Latin term meaning “friend of the court.” An amicus curiae
brief is filed by someone who is not a party to a case but has interest in its outcome. A
person who wants to file this usually has to get the court’s permission to do so.
 Annulment – A court order declaring that a marriage is void.
 Chattels – All properties except real properties; personal property. For example:
jewellery, furniture and appliances.
 Contempt of court - Any act which is calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the
court in administration of justice, or which is calculated to lessen its authority or its
dignity.
 Counterclaim - A claim presented by a defendant in opposition to deduction from the
claim of the plaintiff whether or not it arises from the matters in question in plaintiff's
action.
 Cross-examination - The examination of a witness upon a trial or hearing, or upon
taking a deposition, by the party opposed to the one who put him on the witness stand to
testify.

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  Custody case - In juvenile and domestic relations district court or circuit court, the type
of proceedings in which the court determines which parent, other adult or agency shall
have physical control over a child.
 ex parte – Done for, or at the request of, one side ina case only, without prior notice to
the other side.

MADRAS HIGH COURT:

The Madras High Court is the high court of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The court is
one of the three High Courts in India established in the three Presidency Towns of Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras by Letters patent granted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, bearing date 26
June 1862. It exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai and appellate
jurisdiction over the entire state of Tamil Nadu and Union territory of Puducherry, as well as
extraordinary original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, under the Letters Patent and special
original jurisdiction for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India.

COURT CAMPUS:

The place can be reached both by train and by road. The Beach Railway Station
is just a kilometer away from the Madras High Court. Metro Transport Corporation operates
buses from almost all parts of the city to the High Court. Within the High Court premises, the
following are also located:-

 City Civil Courts

 Court of Small Causes
 Labour Court
 Family Court
 Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority
 Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Center

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WEEK-2:

My lawyer taught me how to maintain case records and bundles in office and also how to
start and proceed with the case. He asked me to come and look at the case proceeding in court
hall for a case of domestic violence. The facts of this case were:

The petitioner is an educated woman living with her father and mother in their own house. She
also runs a tailor shop in one of the rooms in their house which was with the consent of her father
and mother. The petitioner has an elder brother (Defendant) who was married and was living in
a separate house, with his wife. The defendant asked the petitioner (His sister) permission to stay
in her house for maximum of 15 days within which he will search a house for him and his wife.
As there was no place she offered to give him the room where the tailoring shop was located for
15 days and the petitioner, her father and mother stayed in the hall. But even after 3 months he
refused to vacate the house and harmed her physical when she asked to. As it was the only
income of the family, the petitioner asked the defendant again and again to leave the house, but
he not only injured her but also used abusive words against her and gave her mental pressure. So
she filed a case against her brother (Defendant) under Protection of Women From Domestic
Violence Act, 2005,

I have given a task to done research on Family Court, so therefore done a research on it
and found out various aspects of Family Courts. They are:-

Jurisdiction

1. Civil matters

The family courts exercise the entire jurisdiction which is exercised by any District Court or
any subordinate civil court in the following matters-

• Matrimonial causes

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• Maintenance and alimony of spouses

• Custody and guardianship of children

• Settlement of spousal property

2. Criminal matters

The judge is vested with the power exercisable by the Magistrate of First Class under Chapter
IX of Code of Criminal Procedure which is Order for maintenance of wives, children and
parents.

Powers of Family Court

1. The family court has the power to make their own procedure.
2. They are not required to record the oral statement of the witness at length.
3. The appeal from family courts lies directly to the High Court.
4. The Family Court can receive any document or statement even if it is not admissible
under Indian Evidence Act 1872.

Procedure to be followed by family court

1. Section 9 provides that the family court should try to resolve the matter
through conciliation and settlement.
2. If there is possibility of settlement of dispute the court should adjourn the proceedings
until such settlement is arrived at.
3. The parties of the proceeding are not required to hire a legal practitioner; however
they are entitled to appoint an ‘amicus curie’ to assist the parties in the settlement
proceedings.
4. In camera proceedings can be ordered if the parties desire. (In camera proceedings
means that the public is not allowed to see the proceedings)
5. Judgment should be concise with the statement of the case, determination of the
decision and the reason for the decision.

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 6. Provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 are applied in the enforcement of the
order or the judgement.
7. The Court can take assistance of medical and welfare experts.

Appeal

1. Appeal from judgment or order of Family Court can be made to the High Court within
30 days of passing the order or the judgement.
2. The appeal can be on both question of law and question of fact.
3. The appeal should be heard by a High Court bench of two or more judges.
4. No appeal lies against an order which is passed with the consent of the parties.

Steps to follow for registering a suit in a Family Court

1. If a person wants to register a suit in the family court then he needs to describe all the
details clearly on a watermarked paper and submitted along with the court fees.
2. Along with the suit papers the petitioner should attach an affidavit that all the facts stated
in the plaint is true.
3. The papers are submitted to the registrar of the Family Court who verifies all the relevant
documents.
4. These files are presented to the Principal Judge of the Family Court. After verification of
each file and hearing the petitioners, the Principal Judge decides whether the suit is fit for
registration.
5. The applicant files the summons form and gets the next date for hearing.

Challenges

1. Inadequate number of conciliators- In many Courts it has been observed that they
don’t have counsellors or the counsellors are inapt. A major problem is the counsellors
keep changing frequently.
2. Attitude of Family Court Judges- The judges appointed to the family court do not have
any special expertise in dealing with family matters, nor do they have any special

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 expertise in settling disputes through conciliation. The appointment of women judge in
Family Court is still a dream to be achieved.
3. Lack of Uniformity in Rules and Procedures- The procedure established in different
High Courts have laid down different rules of procedure. This causes confusion during
the proceedings. There are still many High Courts who have not yet established Family
Courts.
4. Permitting Lawyers- Though the act has provided that the proceedings should be
conducted without a legal practitioner, the system did not create any alternative system of
simplified rules. The litigants are at the mercy of court clerks and peons to advise them
on the rules followed.
5. Poor state of infrastructure- The Family Court suffers from lack of basic infrastructure.
In maximum Family courts there is absence of drinking water, canteen, typist,
notary.This lack of basic requirements creates hardship. The working conditions are
basically unhygienic and poor.

WEEK-3:-

I have visited the City Civil Court for case Umadevi V. Ponraj, which my advocate were the
counsel for the petitioner (Umadevi). The facts of this case was, Mrs. Umadevi (Petitioner) who
had brought a new house and lends it to lease for amount of Ten Lakhs (Indian Rupees) to the
Defendant (Ponraj) for period of 3 years ( in oral statement). Where the Defendant (Ponraj) were
introduced by Mr. Anirudhan (who is friend of Mrs.Umadevi).After the end of the period the
petitioner was unable to return the money at the correct time. But she gave one Lakh and signed
in a document for giving a balance amount of Nine Lakhs in instalment method. First she paid
the amount of four Lakh and later 5 Lakh. but even though lease amount has been returned as per
the agreement, but the Defendant refuse to vacate the house. The petitioner was request the
Defendant to vacate the house for several times, by means of letter also. But the petitioner failed

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to reply, but sent a notice to claim the lease amount of Twenty Eight Lakh, which he thought that
Mr. Anirudhan as a power agent of petitioner, the defendant said that the Rupees Twenty Lakh
for the lease amount and two Lakh for the maintenance for the house. But from the side of
petitioner she said to be did not receive amount of twenty Lakh. As per agreement only ten Lakh
as to be paid as the lease amount. So from the side of petitioner it is said to be false statement
which was made by the Defendant. The status of this case is the Defendant must prove the
evidence regarding the lease amount of twenty eight Lakh.

I was asked to done research on the City Civil Court regarding their jurisdiction, procedure and
the appeals. So I have done a research on it and sort out the various aspects of City Civil Courts.
They are:-

JURISDICTION

 The City Civil Court similar to the other civil courts is governed by the Code of Civil
Procedure.

 1908. The City Civil Court is subordinate to the District Court which in turn is
subordinate to the High Court.

 The difference between the jurisdiction of the City Civil Court and the Small Cause Court
is that the City Civil Court may also try all suits of the civil nature which are mentioned
in the Schedule II of Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 which cannot be tried by
the Small Cause Court.

 The City Civil Courts in Bombay can handle matters which involve sums upto Rs. 1
crore. Anything exceeding that shall be heard by the High Court of Bombay under its
Original Jurisdiction. This Rule is specified in the Bombay High Court (Appellate Side)
Rules, 1960.

PROCEDURE & DOCUMENTS

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The procedure and the documents required in the City Civil Court are the same as those required
by the Small Cause Court of that State. Again these documents and procedures are specified in
Order II & VII of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and have been discussed in the Small Cause
Courts Section.

COURT FEES

The Court fees to be paid by the applicant while filing a suit in the City Civil Court is specified
either in that State’s High Court Rules or a law passed by the state government specifying the
court fees.

APPEALS:

Appeals against the decision of the City Civil Court can be made to the District Court or the
High Court. To which court the appeal lies depends on the pecuniary jurisdiction and also the
territorial jurisdiction of the appellate court.

WEEK-4 + 2 DAYS:

My advocate taught me how to interrogate with client or to deal with client. He taught me
various tips how to proceed a successful client counselling. They are:-

 The interviewer must communicate questions accurately and precisely.

 The interviewer must maximize the client’s ability and willingness to answer.
 The interviewer must listen actively to determine the significance of statements.
 The interviewer should also probe to increase the validity, clarity and
completeness of the responses.
 Decisions must be made regarding the nature of the client’s problem and any
actions to be taken.

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 I have assigned to done a research on mediation and arbitration. So I have done research
work on it and found out the various differences between them. They are:-

In an arbitration, the arbitrator looks into the legal rights and wrongs of a dispute and
makes a decision. Once the arbitrator has arrived at a decision, it is binding on parties whether
they agree with it or not. It is very much like the way a court case is decided by a judge, except
that the process does not take place in a court room, and it is not open to the public. As in a court
case, there is usually a winning and a losing party in an arbitration.

In a mediation, the mediator, essentially, helps parties to settle their disputes by a process
of discussion and narrowing differences. The mediator helps the parties to arrive at an agreed
solution. He does not decide the dispute. A successful mediation results in an agreement signed
by the parties, whereas a contested arbitration results in a decision by the arbitrator himself
without the agreement of the parties. In a mediation, there is no such thing as a winning or losing
party, because there is no binding decision without both parties agreeing to one.

One of the primary functions of a lawyer is counseling the client. Legal profession like
medical profession is a “helping profession.” Traditionally legal counseling was viewed as the
lawyer advising the client regarding the client’s legal problem. In counseling usually the lawyer
exercises a great deal of control over the outcome of counseling. In this whole exercise, the client
becomes a passive spectator if not a mute spectator. This often results in the lawyer taking
decisions on behalf of the client. This in fact had become an acceptable professional practice.

As times change, legal profession also undergoes tremendous change which resulted in
the developing of “client – centered counseling”. Client centered counseling requires that lawyer
assist the client in the way he/she needs rather than the lawyer taking any decisions on behalf of
the client. Counseling is all about giving such information which a client would like to know
regarding his legal problem/case. Client may require such information to take some decision
about the course of action he/she may like to take in future. You must understand that the client
approaches the lawyer because the lawyer has the ability to understand his/her problem.

Unlike other counseling, in legal counseling, the client may be looking at the lawyer for
various remedies. Therefore, the lawyer needs to understand what the client wants. The lawyer is

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required to assess client’s goals, expectations and needs. While assessing so, the lawyer should
look at the expectations of the client.

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