The Thiruvananthapuram Bar Association seems to be finding itself increasingly at odds with the judiciary.
Close on the heels of an unresolved standoff with judicial officers over the alleged storming of a woman magistrate’s courtroom here last week, new information emerged on Sunday that the association had instructed its members to ‘abstain’ from adalats henceforth.
The Bar had adopted the resolution in the face of a circular by the High Court which lawyers felt had “adversely affected their rights.”
The High Court said Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) judges should ensure that insurance companies deposited accident claims in annuity schemes initiated in the name of victims rather than dispensing the whole amount directly to them through their lawyers.
Eliminating fake claims
It had also frowned upon parcelling out claims to victims directly as cash and said courts should resort to such a step only in exceptional circumstances. The High Court had, at a stroke, sought to eliminate fake claims and ease the stranglehold individual lawyers and police officers had over claimants.
The court had also strived to stymie “ambulance chasers,” mostly a motley group of corrupt police officers, touts and hospital staff who poached accident victims seeking damages for personal injury on behalf of individual lawyers.
The racketeers often took the lion’s share of the claims awarded to the accident victims by fudging records and cooking books. They also filed fake complaints to fleece insurance companies.
‘Financial loss’
A senior lawyer said the move would make legal practice financially unsustainable for a large segment of lawyers who faced spiralling establishment costs and a dwindling number of cases.
‘Not advisable’
However, a court official said the Bar’s decision appeared to run against the grain of the Supreme Court’s damning observation in early November that boycott of court proceedings by advocates was tantamount to “closure of the judiciary” and was not advisable in the larger interest of the public.
The High Court’s Legal Services Committee organised adalats regularly to reduce the pendency of cases and ensure that justice reached ordinary citizens.
