Madras HC Chief Justice agrees to restructure disciplinary rules on BCI’s request

In a letter addressed to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the Bar Council of India has noted that the Chief Justice of Madras High Court has agreed to restructure the disciplinary rules, on request of the BCI’s Chairman. It says that the rules have been agreed to be kept in abeyance, till the time the office bearers of concerned Associations are called on for hearing them out.

The letter however directs that the advocates not willing to accept the proposal must be earmarked and identified, and immediately be suspended from practice. “BCI cannot allow any sort of nuisance in the profession which could down grade the standard of our legal fraternity,” the letter states.

Madras High Court had recently introduced new sets of disciplinary rules for the Advocates through an amendment, enabling it to debar lawyers who indulge in objectionable behavior. In a notification published on 20th May 2016, new Rules 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D have been added to the existing Rules under Advocates Act.

Soon after, the Madras High Court Advocates Association had, in a unanimous resolution, expressed its “deep” concerns about the newly introduced amendments. The Association, in its resolution said that these amendments “constitute a serious threat to the independence of the legal profession and will prevent advocates from discharging their duties without the constant fear that any emphatic and assertive argument will result in a judge terming it as “browbeating” leading to their debarment.”

The Chief Justice of Madras High Court had then assured BCTP that no action would be taken against advocates in furtherance of the Advocates Act, till a decision is taken on the recommendations put forth by the Bar Associations. You may read the LiveLaw article here.