Literal Meaning
Friend of the Court
Origin
Latin
Explanation
Amicus Curiae is a friend of the court which involves either a person or an organization who/which is not a party to the proceedings, but is permitted by the court to set out legal arguments or to furnish information regarding questions of law and recommendations in a given case. In general, Amicus Curiae is someone who is not a party to the litigation, but who believes that the court’s decision may affect its interest.
The person who is usually allowed by the India courts, to act as amicus curiae, are people who represent the unbiased will and opinion of the society. The decision of whether to admit the information provided by the Amicus Curiae lies with the discretion of the court.
Case Laws
In Ramrameshwari Devi & Ors vs Nirmala Devi & Ors, the Supreme Court while looking to the importance of the matter in the case has requested Dr. Arun Mohan, a distinguished senior advocate to assist this court as an Amicus Curiae.
In Mulla & Another vs the State Of U.P, the Supreme Court held that the learned amicus curiae fairly stated that no family member ever approached during the entire proceedings enquiring these appellants. The perusal of the case records also shows that no one is depending on them and no family responsibility is on the shoulders of these accused persons.
In Dr.Subramanian Swamy vs Director, CBI & Anr, the Supreme Court held that “Even though the matter was brought to the court by certain individuals claiming to represent the public interest, yet as the case progressed, in keeping with the requirement of public interest, the procedure devised was to appoint the petitioners’ counsel as the amicus curiae and to make such orders from time to time as were consistent with the public interest.