‘No need for lawyers to wear black gown before law tribunal’

CHENNAI: Observing that there was no need for lawyers appearing before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in New Delhi to wear black gown, a division bench of the Madras High Court has stayed the operation of an order of the Tribunal Registrar.

The bench of Justices T S Sivagnanam and K Ravichandrabaabu granted the interim stay and ordered notice to the Union government, the NCLT Registrar and the Bar Council of India, returnable by January 22, on a PIL petition from advocate R Rajesh.

The petitioner is a practising advocate and also a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and appearing before the High Court and other tribunals. He sought to declare as null and void  the order passed by the NCLT Registrar.

The petitioner contended that the order was in direct conflict with the rules of the Bar Council of India (BCI), in particular, the rules pertaining to code of dresses or robes to be worn by advocates. In terms of the rules, wearing of advocates’ gown shall be optional except when appearing in the Supreme Court and in High Courts. Therefore, the Registrar has no jurisdiction to insist that the advocates appearing before the NCLT wear the gown, he added.

“We are of the prima facie view that the Registrar has no jurisdiction to insist that advocates appearing before the benches of NCLT should compulsorily wear black gowns. Such order would be in direct conflict with the rules framed by the BCI. Apart from that, it is doubtful whether the NCLT Registrar would have jurisdiction to issue the impugned order going by his functions as enumerated under Rule 17 of the NCLT Rules or for that matter, Rule 51. Thus, for the above reasons, we are satisfied that the petitioner has made out a prima facie case for grant of an interim order,” the bench added.