Frequent court boycotts by lawyers for flimsy reasons to be deprecated: Madras HC
Lawyers are professionals and are bound to protect the interest of litigants and the majesty of courts. Boycotting courts frequently for flimsy reasons or based on certain individual grievances of any lawyer at no circumstances can be appreciated, but it is to be deprecated, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has observed.
A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and A.D. Maria Clete observed that the Supreme Court had repeatedly reiterated that lawyers could not indulge in boycotting the courts for flimsy reasons and in such an event, strong actions were directed to be initiated by the competent authorities. That apart, boycotts might not be a proper solution.
Only in the event of any common cause, the lawyers had to approach the Bar Council or the competent authorities to redress their grievances. Contrarily, they were not expected to resort to boycotts unnecessarily, thereby obstructing the court proceedings, the court observed.
Lawyers were officers of the court. They were the stakeholders in the justice delivery system. Their absence would affect court proceedings. The courts would not be in a position to hear and dispose of cases in the absence of the lawyers. Their assistance to the court was of paramount importance in the justice delivery system, the Bench observed.
The court was hearing a petition filed by R. Jim who complained that for flimsy reasons boycotts were announced by the Tirunelveli Bar Association which caused inconvenience to the public and some lawyers who were willing to appear before the courts.
The petitioner sought a direction to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the association office-bearers. The court observed that in the absence of a specific complaint regarding misconduct or illegality committed by the office-bearers, the Bar Council might not be in a position to initiate appropriate action.
In the event of receiving a specific complaint from the petitioner against the office-bearers of the Bar Association or any practising lawyers, the Bar Council should initiate appropriate actions, as contemplated under the Advocates Act, 1961, and the Rules, including the Bar Council of India Rules, the court directed.
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