Bar council: 39,000 lawyers in Tamil Nadu may lose practice, vote

Suresh Kumar | TNN | Dec 8, 2017, 06:19 IST

CHENNAI: In the biggest ever attempt to purify its rolls, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has announced that more than 39,000 lawyers would be suspended from practice as they were yet to complete their enrolment verification process and pay subscription fee for the advocates welfare fund. These lawyers will also become ineligible to contest or vote in any Bar council election, it said.

Advocate-General Vijay Narayan, who is chairman of the special committee of the council, said: "More than 30,000 lawyers had not subjected themselves to scrutiny; 9,000 advocates who have enrolled before April 1, 1993 have failed to pay their subscription fee for welfare scheme." 'Of 86K lawyers enrolled with council, only 56K submitted certificates for verification'

Notices have been issued to all those lawyers to pay their subscription and arrears with a token fine to avoid suspension, advocate-general Vijay Narayan said.

This apart, he added that efforts have been taken to cleanse the electoral rolls with dedicated committees comprising of designated senior advocates.

Though the Supreme Court had directed the state Bar councils to publish the electoral list by November 30 and hold the elections by December 31, a plea has been made by the council to provide more time.

Narayan also said that out of 86,000 lawyers enrolled with the council, as many as 56,000 submitted their certificates for verification, whereas the remaining 30,000 had not bothered to subject themselves for scrutiny.

The chairman also pointed out that 152 lawyers who have failed to clear the All India Bar Examination have been suspended and out of the 400 criminal cases pending against advocates as many as 56 cases have been referred to the newly created disciplinary committees for quick disposal.

Already, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has issued prohibitory orders against a total of 742 advocates, as they had obtained a law degree without the mandatory requirement of a foundation degree. The decision was made under Rule 5 of the Legal Education Rules, 2008 and in the light of the order passed by Madras high court on October 25.