Bar Council removes 2 from its rolls

They were found guilty of levelling baseless allegations against a judge

May 10, 2019 01:12 am | Updated 01:12 am IST - CHENNAI

Denouncing the practice of lawyers criticising judges and courts in public forums, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry removed two advocates from its rolls.

They had picked up a quarrel with a judge at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and accused him of being corrupt after he referred their conduct to the council.

A three-member disciplinary committee comprising senior counsel R. Singaravelan and advocates S. Ilamvaludhi and Ravi Shanmugam found the lawyers R. Chinnathirai Arockiam Selvin and his brother R. Esthov Antony Ashok guilty of professional misconduct and decided to impose the highest punishment of removal from the rolls of the council.

“We feel that judges, now-a-days, are well protected physically with the help of police force but not mentally because of the unpredictable and magical advancement of scientific technologies particularly Facebook and WhatsApp. A judge is being subjected to criticism and debate in social media the moment he passes any public oriented sensitive order.

“One order passed by a court becomes hundred orders because of various mischievous interpretations given by social media. The personal conduct of the honourable judge also is being touched either directly or indirectly. Though the judiciary is independent, the hourable judge is driven to a small circle to keep themselves away from any controversy or criticism.

“The society often forgets that the honourable judges are also made up of flesh and blood and they also have heart and family. In the name of freedom of speech, they are being criticised forgetting the fundamental fact that their judgement is a judgement and it is questionable only in an appellate forum,” the disciplinary committee observed in its order.

In so far as the present case was concerned, the committee pointed out that it had been referred to it by way of a judicial order passed by the Madurai Bench on October 16, 2018 when Mr. Ashok had appeared as an advocate on record for a case filed by his brother seeking a police inquiry against some government officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

During the hearing, the petitioner, a Marine Engineer, had appeared in black robes and argued the case despite the presence of the advocate on record. When the judge questioned as to how could be do so, the engineer supposedly replied that he was entitled to address the courts from the tables meant for advocates whenever he was not sailing in the high seas.

Taking strong exception to such conduct, the judge referred the issue to the Bar Council since the Advocates Act of 1961 as well as rules framed by Bar Council of India prohibit a lawyer from taking up other professions without suspending their practice. After the reference, the disciplinary committee pointed out that lawyers were also not supposed to appear for close relatives.

The two brothers did not apologise for their conduct. Instead they filed individual counter affidavits before the disciplinary committee levelling various allegations against the judge concerned. Hence, the committee decided to bar them practising as lawyers and revoked their enrolment.

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