Centre to move SC over entry of foreign law firms

"The Bombay High Court has rejected the entry of foreign law firms in the country. The matter is now before the Madras High Court. We plan to move a petition to transfer the matter to the Supreme Court so that a broader perspective could be obtained," Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters here.

He said it would help the government take a "final decision" on the matter.
To a question, he said while government has not taken a view on the subject yet, the application would be moved as the Centre was a party to the litigation.

The Indian legal fraternity led by the Bar Council of India is opposed to entry of foreign law firms, fearing that they would not be able to compete with their foreign counterparts.
Recognising these concerns, Moily said these would be addressed before a decision is taken.

He noted that the United Kingdom and China had faced similar problems in the past when foreign law firms wanted entry but these were overcome.
Moily, who recently returned from a visit to the UK, said law firms in that country were interested in entering India.

He said on the lines of UK, the Centre was contemplating evolving a system on sentencing guidelines.

"Different courts award different sentence for the same crime.... We will move the Cabinet with a plan to bring uniformity in award of sentences," he said, adding that the plan was in its infancy as of now.