HC directs Bar Council to spell out action taken against erring lawyers

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to spell out the mechanism it is following to take action against lawyers who have misbehaved with police personnel on duty in public places.

Justice M Dhandapani issued the direction when a criminal original petition from advocate Tanuja Kanthula and her daughter Preeti Rajan, residents of Chetpet, seeking bail, came up for hearing on Tuesday. The duo feared arrest by the Kilpauk police for allegedly misbehaving with the cops, for which a case was registered against them.

The court, in its order, said, “..the mechanism that is in place to take action against such individuals, who involve themselves in indisciplined acts and misbehave with officials on duty, are not spelt out by TN Bar Council.” The Bar Council, being the regulatory authority, must be impleaded as a party respondent in the case and directed to file a status report by June 17, it added.

Commenting on the police personnel who are working even amid the pandemic, the judge said, “...Though such is the scale in which duty is performed by the uniformed service... there are a few miscreants, who, with scant respect to the work done by the law enforcing agency, indulge in a tussle with the police personnel, not only undermining the work done by them but also creating an eerie atmosphere amongst the police personnel.”

“...Instances have come to the notice of this court where the legal fraternity has also indulged in some high-handed activity against the law enforcing agency. It is a harsh reality that instances of such nature by the members of the legal fraternity are on the increase. Though for unruly and indisciplined behaviour, other persons, who work for one or another arm of the government, a mechanism of disciplinary action is contemplated... when it comes to the legal fraternity, the initiative and control rests on the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu to take appropriate action against those unruly advocates who involve themselves in these kinds of acts, which demeans the profession,” the court added.