Less than a week after the Bar Council of India warned Tamil Nadu lawyers against boycotting courts, as many as 126 lawyers from the state have been suspended, reports TOI..An order passed by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on July 20 urged lawyers from various associations to call off their boycotts by July 22 or face the consequences. And now, the BCI has come good on its promise..Most of the lawyers suspended belong to a Joint Action Committee (JAC) consisting of members of various bar associations in the state. These include P Thirumalairajan, chief coordinator of JAC, M Velmurugan, former member of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Arivazhagan, Secretary of the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) and Nalini, President of the Women Lawyers Association..Advocates across the state have been protesting the recently notified amendments to the Advocates Act made by the Madras High Court. The amendment seeks to usher in a few disciplinary rules, given the recent history of indiscipline at the chartered court..A large section of the bar has expressed concerns that some of the new rules would result in creating a sense of fear among advocates appearing before courts. And the judges of the High Court have been receptive to these reservations..A five-judge committee comprising Justices S Manikumar, S Nagamuthu, Rajiv Shakhder, PN Prakash and MM Sundaresh has been formed to look into the matter. In a Full Court meeting held on July 21, it was noted that this committee has been receiving representations from recognised bar associations in Chennai. Those from other parts of the state have been given an opportunity to express their issues on July 29. In an earlier Full Court meeting, it was reiterated that no action would be taken against advocates under the new rules pending the conclusion of the committee’s deliberations..Despite these assurances, various bar associations have been on protest, with some lawyers indulging in reprehensible means of protest. The JAC also resolved to gherao the High Court today with the intention of preventing the entry of advocates and litigants..However, security in and around the High Court campus has been beefed up today, with protesting lawyers being stopped two kilometres from the court premises. It was revealed that advocates had no problems entering the campus, thanks largely to the CISF forces deployed..Outside the campus, protesting lawyers tried to force their way in, throwing bottles at the police, as tweeted by Newsminute:.A delegation of senior lawyers, including Senior Advocate P Wilson, has appealed to the protesting lawyers to withdraw today’s boycott:
Less than a week after the Bar Council of India warned Tamil Nadu lawyers against boycotting courts, as many as 126 lawyers from the state have been suspended, reports TOI..An order passed by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on July 20 urged lawyers from various associations to call off their boycotts by July 22 or face the consequences. And now, the BCI has come good on its promise..Most of the lawyers suspended belong to a Joint Action Committee (JAC) consisting of members of various bar associations in the state. These include P Thirumalairajan, chief coordinator of JAC, M Velmurugan, former member of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Arivazhagan, Secretary of the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) and Nalini, President of the Women Lawyers Association..Advocates across the state have been protesting the recently notified amendments to the Advocates Act made by the Madras High Court. The amendment seeks to usher in a few disciplinary rules, given the recent history of indiscipline at the chartered court..A large section of the bar has expressed concerns that some of the new rules would result in creating a sense of fear among advocates appearing before courts. And the judges of the High Court have been receptive to these reservations..A five-judge committee comprising Justices S Manikumar, S Nagamuthu, Rajiv Shakhder, PN Prakash and MM Sundaresh has been formed to look into the matter. In a Full Court meeting held on July 21, it was noted that this committee has been receiving representations from recognised bar associations in Chennai. Those from other parts of the state have been given an opportunity to express their issues on July 29. In an earlier Full Court meeting, it was reiterated that no action would be taken against advocates under the new rules pending the conclusion of the committee’s deliberations..Despite these assurances, various bar associations have been on protest, with some lawyers indulging in reprehensible means of protest. The JAC also resolved to gherao the High Court today with the intention of preventing the entry of advocates and litigants..However, security in and around the High Court campus has been beefed up today, with protesting lawyers being stopped two kilometres from the court premises. It was revealed that advocates had no problems entering the campus, thanks largely to the CISF forces deployed..Outside the campus, protesting lawyers tried to force their way in, throwing bottles at the police, as tweeted by Newsminute:.A delegation of senior lawyers, including Senior Advocate P Wilson, has appealed to the protesting lawyers to withdraw today’s boycott: