Forum Shopping

Forum Shopping

Recently, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud condemned ‘forum shopping’.

What is Forum shopping

• When litigants or lawyers attempt to deliberately move their case to a particular judge or Court where they think the judgment could be more favourable, they are said to be “forum shopping.”
• This practice involves choosing a court that is likely to provide the most favourable outcome, rather than following the standard legal process.
• Lawyers think about which is the right forum to approach as part of their litigation strategy. For example, one could directly approach the Supreme Court via a public interest litigation case instead of the concerned High Court because the issue could get more eyeballs.

 Issues with Forum Shopping

• It cited the injustice caused to the other party in the case and overburdening some courts over others and interfering with judicial process.
• It circumvents the normal course of justice and may increase the workload on the courts.
• A number of writers recognize that forum shopping may lead to an undesirable lack of decisional uniformity.
• It has no sanction in the law and gives unfair advantage to one party. 

SC judgements on ‘Forum Shopping’

• Chetak Construction Ltd. vs. Om Prakash (1998): A litigant cannot be permitted choice of the forum,” and that every attempt at forum shopping “must be crushed with a heavy hand.
• Vijay Kumar Ghai vs. State of W.B (2022): SC termed forum shopping as a “disreputable practice by the courts” that “has no sanction and paramountcy in law”.
• Bench Hunting
  • “Bench hunting” refers to petitioners managing to get their cases heard by a particular judge or court to ensure a favourable order.

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