The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in a case where Srivilliputhur Bar Association has alleged that an advocate, now suspended from the association, had started practising even before he had cleared the All India Bar Examination.
A Division Bench of Justices P.N. Prakash and B. Pugalendhi appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in ascertaining 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 during the scrutiny of members’ list, it was found that 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He was suspended in 2015 for not clearing the AIBE and the suspension had been revoked in 2019.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 police complaint was lodged. However, no action was taken against the advocate, and hence the petition was filed, the petitioner said.