A State-level meeting of advocates organised by the Tiruchi Bar Association here on Sunday urged the Bar Council of India to withdraw its order suspending 15 advocates for allegedly indulging in violence on the Madras High Court campus.
A resolution was adopted at the conclusion of the meeting attended by lawyers from across the State and office-bearers of different Bar Associations of Tamil Nadu – Puducherry.
The resolution termed the Bar Council of India’s action “ ultra vires ” under Section 36 of the Advocates Act, 1961. The 15 advocates affiliated to the Madurai Bar Association were debarred from practising before any court or authority pending a disciplinary probe against them for “gross professional misconduct.”
Presided over by the Tiruchi Bar Association president R. Baskaran, the meeting was organised in the wake of suspension of 15 advocates and the High Court order’s directing the Madurai Bar Association to vacate the hall from where it had been functioning on the district court premises.
Terming the order directing the Madurai Bar Association to vacate the hall as “a wrong precedent,” the resolution said it amounted to “stifling the voice of democracy.” While unanimously appealing to the Madras High Court to withdraw its order, the resolution further said advocates had every right to function from the Bar Association premises.
The meeting appealed to the High Court to refrain from interfering in this regard and not give room for advocates to resort to protests. It said the Tamil Nadu Bar Council should take responsibility for the accusation that criminals were entering the legal profession.
Without having gone to law colleges, there were many who had obtained law degree through distance education mode and had enrolled as advocates by the Tamil Nadu Bar Council.
The meeting unanimously urged the Central government to conduct a CBI probe into the issue of “fake advocates.”
Another resolution urged the Supreme Court and the Union government to take immediate steps to make Tamil the official court language in Madras High Court. The advocates took a vow to uphold the majesty of the court and the nobility of the legal profession.
Another resolution wanted those judges who had not disclosed the property details of their family members to do so immediately.
It appealed to the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court to invite the office-bearers of the Bar Associations to ascertain the true picture instead of taking advice from other judges.
The meeting resolved to constitute a State-level committee to monitor the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the meeting.
