Fate of suspended lawyers hangs in balance

A showdown is fast emerging between the lawyers and the Bar Council of India after it transferred disciplinary proceedings against eight Tamil Nadu Advocates to the Karnataka State Bar Council (BCK). With the move coming close in the heels of disciplinary proceedings against 13 suspended advocates being heard by BCK, tension is in the air that the case against 40 odd advocates who have been suspended on various charges could ultimately end up with a similar fate. 

Trouble had commenced over making Tamil the official language in court and subsequently against the compulsory helmet rule. During such time, advocates from both Chennai and Madurai, along with children, held processions in court halls when the courts were in session.  The protests even saw advocates barging into the Judges’ chambers. The lawyers also disrupted the suo motu contempt proceedings held against two advocates of the Madurai Bench over the helmet issue. 

This violence had led to even the Apex court coming down heavily on the lawyers from both Madras and Madurai.  Blasting the Madras Bar associations and the Bar Council for keeping mum on the recent violence by lawyers on the Madras High Court premises, the CJI said he had never before seen lawyers stoop to such low levels, bringing down the name and well-woven traditions of a much-respected High Court with them. The Chief Justice of the High Court was also compelled to order Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to protect his judges against the lawyers. 

Unprecedented action 

The BCI had on September 22, suspended 13 Madurai-based lawyers, including two Bar leaders P Dharmaraj and AK Ramasamy. Though initially it said their disciplinary proceedings, would take place in Bengaluru, after a request from the state Bar council chairman D Selvam, it permitted the proceedings to be held in Chennai. However, after the change of venue was challenged in a PIL, the Madras high court left the decision to the BCI itself. The BCI, again, favoured Bengaluru as venue and the proceedings have commenced there. 

Subsequently, after the CISF took over the security at the High Court, eight advocates had staged a protest alleging that the CISF personnel in plain-clothes had taped the frisking of a woman advocate. The CISF in turn lodged a complaint with the Bar Council in Tamil Nadu stating that false allegations were being made. A three-member committee was formed to hear the matter.

But the matter took a different twist, with one of the members Rajarajan resigning after making it clear that he was being pressured to decide in favour of the advocates and also lift the suspension.

This immediately resulted in the proceedings being transferred to Karnataka. As of today, 41 advocates have been suspended on various charges. But as it stands, the advocates who had resorted to such unruly behaviour have been pushed to a corner, with the odds heavily stacked against them.