The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in a case where the Srivilliputhur Bar Association has alleged that an advocate had started practising even before he had cleared the All-India Bar Examination.
A Division Bench of Justices P.N. Prakash and B. Pugalendhi made the appointment to ascertain if the allegation made by the association was true. The petition was filed by S. Thirumalaiappan, secretary of the association against advocate J. Auspin Jack.
The petitioner said that while scrutinising the members’ list, it was found that Mr. Auspin Jack who became a member of the Bar Association in 2016, had not cleared the AIBE, mandatory for all law graduates. When the petitioner contacted the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, he was informed that the advocate had been suspended for four years.
He was suspended in 2015 for not clearing AIBE and the suspension had been revoked in 2019. It was said that he had continued to practise during this period. Subsequently he was removed from the association. A complaint was lodged with the police for the offence of misrepresentation. However, with no action taken against the advocate so far, the petition was filed before the court, the petitioner said.