Advocates Are Referred To As Gentlemen In Profession Of Advocacy; Lawyers Must Try To Fit Into That Word: Justice Vaidyanathan Bids Farewell To Madras HC

In his farewell speech, Justice Vaidyanathan said that a lawyer was seen as a Gentleman in the profession of advocacy and every lawyer must endeavor to fit into that word. He added that lawyers should always take care of the interests of the clients and ensure that matters are settles at the earliest.

“As is known, in the profession of advocacy the advocates are referred to as Gentlemen. Every lawyer must try to fit into that word. Advocates must also ensure that once a litigation starts, mediation should be given preference so that matters cane be settled at the earliest point of time within a short duration,” he said.

Addressing the growing trend of fake lawyers, Justice Vaidyanathan said that even genuine lawyers will be deprived of their briefs and cases because of these fake lawyers. He added that it was the duty of every lawyer to bring fake lawyers to the attention of the court. he also asked the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to ensure that only lawyers with utmost sincerity and integrity were selected as office bearers.

“Each and every lawyer must realise that genuine lawyers are going to be deprived of briefs on account of touts and fake lawyers and it is the duty of every lawyer to bring it to the notice of the court about the fake lawyer. It is my earnest wish that the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry ensures that only lawyers with utmost honesty and integrity are elected as office bearers. Why I wish so is because, lawyers, several decades ago had high level of good will in the society. Whether they get such respect now, is a question,” Justice Vaidyanathan said.

Justice Vaidyanathan also pointed out that in MCOP and Matrimonial jurisdiction, the lawyers were often not concerned with the interest of their clients and instead were “fleecing” the poor litigants and getting money.

He pointed out that whenever a road accident took place, an unholy nexus was arrived at between the police and the lawyer, and the victims of the road accidents were put in an unfortunate position. Similarly, he said that in matrimonial disputes, lawyers often did not prefer their clients reconcile as it would prevent them from fleecing money.

Justice Vaidyanathan also emphasized that the advocates were expected to take care of the best interest of their clients.

Justice Vaidyanathan, who started his legal career in 1986 was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court on October 25, 2013, and later became a permanent judge on April 14, 2015, and is the senior-most judge of the Madras High Court. Justice Vaidyanathan was also briefly appointed as the Acting Chief Justice pursuant to the retirement of Justice T Raja, who was holding the office of Acting Chief Justice pursuant the superannuation of Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari (Retd).

Delivering the Farewell address, Advocate General PS Raman pointed out that during his tenure as the judge of the Madras High Court, Justice Vaidyanathan has been part of around 74 division benches and has disposed of a total of 67,000 cases.