“Lawyers should act as bridges between their clients and judges in rendering justice; the lawyers should not treat judges as their enemies, we are extending our hands on all possible occasions but there are times where we cannot do that and that should not be taken differently and be treated as due to reasons of enmity,” said P. Venkatraman, Judge, Madras High Court.
He was delivering the special address after unveiling the portraits of two senior advocates, late A.Kuttalam and P.Sermakani on Monday at the Library hall of the Lawyers Association of Madurai District Court (LAMDC) at the District Court complex on Monday.
The Judge said that the event was not only an effort to honour those senior advocates but make the young lawyers understand their contributions and emulate them. When the juniors of late Mr. A.Kuttalam said that he was a voracious reader who would be reading till 1.a.m., even as he would be smoking, the judge jocularly, mentioned that the young lawyers should follow the former and not the latter.
Mr.K.Venkatraman advised the lawyers, especially the juniors to read carefully the affidavits before filing them. The Judge also requested the advocates not to boycott courts as it affects the clients who are dependent on them. “If there are grievances, approach the particular judge or the Principal District Judge and get it redressed instead of indulging in boycotts,” the judge said.
Speaking earlier, contemporaries and juniors of the late advocates shared their experiences with their seniors. P.Sermakani was a civil lawyer who also appeared for cases relating to labour issues and had an experience of 45 years. A.Kuttalam on the other hand was a famous criminal lawyer; he was associated with the Communist party and was its illustrious advocate where party members from across the six southern districts would approach him. Three of his sons have already established their names in the legal profession and his elder son K.Swamidurai has already published many books and is closely associated with various organisations working for the public cause.
Both Sermakani and Kuttalam had a great similarity in the form of their reading habit, commented their contemporaries.
B.Gokul Das, Principal District Judge, District Court, Madurai offered his felicitations. R.Sadaiyandi, Registrar, Madras High Court, Madurai Bench, participated in the event. K.Thirumalairaj, senior advocate, senior president, LAMDC, presided over the meeting which was held in the presence of M.N.Sanakara, senior advocate, organising president, M.Subramanian, secretary, K.A.Nandagopalan, treasurer, C.Ilaman, vice president, LAMDC.
