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Tips to read Judgment Effectively

Reading is a part of our daily life. Everyone do read something or the other which includes reading newspaper, magazines, comics, storybooks and now the situation is that we need to include social media posts also in a part of our reading habit. Interest of reading various zoners depends on individual necessity, interest any other.

But today I would only make my focus stand on how can a person read a judgment effectively. I might say this with the influence of judgment but this can be practised while reading anything and I’m sure there won’t be any negative corner of it unless and until you are interested. 

Being a law student or somewhere related to law it is the person’s duty to utilize the maximum time and make themselves enrich in all the possible ways and be obsessed with making yourself the best in every corner. Even though the study of law has many included in it like drafting, reading bare acts, remembering sections, citations and many others out which time management really places a major role in the person’s schedule or routine. 

Develop habit to read atleast one judgment in a week

Firstly I would request all the people who are reading this to make a habit of reading at least one judgment in a week perfectly and the judgment can be the latest one or the landmark one and I would suggest you to start reading with SUPREME COURT judgments. Maximum judgments of the supreme court would be as long as possible as they are delivered by learned Judges.

Hence reading even one judgment a week might not be possible if the judgment is of 1000 pages. Being a beginner select a small and interested topic of judgment. Like if you are interested in criminal matters select a judgment delivered by the supreme court in criminal matters and need not be landmark all the time. 

Learn to recognise different components of a Judgment

After a perfect selection, then segregate the various things that a judgment would include. Every judgment would include 2 major concepts namely FACTS and LAW which are to be separated. Even though the judgment is read through online, take a note and start writing what is the law involved in it.

Because facts would obviously remain as a story that can be easily remembered and with a disclaimer here if the judgment is having only key facts then it is better if you take down even them without any own assumptions. This is because the change in facts would make you learn the wrong application of the law. Hence while reading a judgment never use your talent in assumptions rather use it in understanding the judgment as much as possible. 

Write down the law applicable on the facts

One’s the segregation is done then a law student must write down what are all the sections and legal provisions that are included. Here writing in the sense only writing numbers of sections isn’t enough. If a case includes Art. 21, then it is your duty to write side by what Art. 21 (right to life and liberty) says. This would help the student to remember the sections and articles mostly in practice to be easily remembered. 

I would also add a keynote here that how many times you read the same judgment thoroughly there would be something new rested in it and every time you read it again and again you would learn something new. This is the beauty of judgments, especially referring to Indian law and courts. Coming back to the point, once you make a note of everything as above stated now you have your own notes of facts of the case and law involved in the case. 

Note Down legal Phrases

Now the work that is rested on you is to understand and correlate the law and facts which would give you practical knowledge of the case and help you while practising under your senior council. Every judgment would include certain sentences or phrases which will make you fall in love with LAW through judgments.


Leaving that apart, now the next immediate task left with us is to make a note of facts not of the case but of the judgment that is the bench which delivered judgement, date of judgment, councils either side and previous citations of cases and overruled judgments if any.

While reading the judgment I would also suggest you to make the so felt important sentences or brief of each paragraph in your own words in the note side by. This would make yourself present better whenever required. Apart from this maximum judgments would have legal terminology and next level of vocabulary which everyone might not have been known but can be learnt by everyone.

Hence while reading itself whichever is the hard word that you find, pen it down in the note, search the meaning from google then and there and try to rewrite the same word while writing a brief of the paragraph.

Effects of Effectively Reading

The judgment might take time but this kind of continuous reading would obviously have a great impact on you and would enhance your reading, drafting, vocabulary, usage of words, reading capacity and many others. This would give you better language to speak fluent English for better future opportunities in any sector and this would also make yourself grow big with knowing legal provisions that are in existence. 

But I can assure you one thing that this might be hard at the beginning but once you make a habit I’m sure you can read even 7 judgments in a week and more and there is a possibility for you to deliver a landmark judgment in future. 

Again here I would also make a request that while reading a judgment maximum prefer individual studying which would make you not to hesitate to learn anything new and would make your mind maturity increase which is really necessary for young generation to make or understand law as is required to the society. 

Every reader of this article makes sure that you read at least one judgment in a week that is a span of 7 days and read it thoroughly. Make yourself a better citizen day by day.

The author of this article is lekhya. R. She is a student of ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad. The views of the author expressed in this article are her own.

                                                                                                   

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