It is said that half of a farmer’s life goes in fighting legal battles. The time he could spend in doing his kheti or with his family he spends in courts and travelling back and forth. A good part of his meager earnings goes into fighting his court cases.
The answers are not difficult to find.
One, the revenue laws of consolidation of land holdings and imposition of land holdings have long winding procedures and appeals. Everyone feels that the farmer has ample time at his disposal and is easy milking for the lawyer as well as the system.
Two, the farmer has the tendency to get into legal battles primarily for the deficiency of having something better to do. The farmer typically has a small fragmented holding which does not keep him busy nor pays him well enough. He is drawn to and ends up in court to perhaps feel he is doing something important. Soon enough spending time in courts becomes a habit and addiction.
Three, the process of law is very slow in our country and any court case, be it revenue, civil or criminal can take a lifetime to get heard. And the endless dates or tarikh can become a seamless part of the farmer’s routine.
Four, succession by multiple inheritors of fragmented holdings further fragments the small fields and it leads to disputes between siblings that end up in courts.
