The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the misuse of ‘advocate stickers’, pointing out that even non-advocates used the stickers, especially to hoodwink the police.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and R. Tharani sought a report from the Bar Associations of the Madras High Court and the Madurai Bench, CBI; Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, and State Law Secretary on the steps being taken to curb the practice of people ‘buying’ law degrees.
It observed that the symbol of the legal profession could not be misused. The case has been posted for further hearing on February 1.
The court was hearing a case of an advocate who allegedly attended only the final year of the law course but had completed the first two years through correspondence.
The State Bar Council conducted an inquiry and removed the name of the advocate. However, it was stayed by the Bar Council of India.
Threat to profession
The court earlier questioned how law colleges were given permission without determining the requirements of lawyers and the profession. It observed that such a practice posed a threat to the profession and the matter has to be looked into in all seriousness.
The court called for action against those who bought law degrees. It warned that it would remove such persons from the profession. Law colleges that ‘sell’ degrees would not be allowed to function, the court said.
