No Law Fixing Number Of Persons Who Can Accompany A Party In Court: Madras HC Rejects PIL To Limit Advocates Appearing For VIP Litigants

The bench of Chief Justice KR Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy held that since there was no law fixing the number of persons who can appear and accompany a party in court, it could not direct the Registrar General to impose restrictions on the same. Thus, noting that the relief as prayed for could not be granted, the court dismissed the petition.

“The admitted position is that there is no enactment at present which fixes the number of persons who can appear on behalf of or accompany a party to Court. In the absence of a public duty on the first respondent to impose restrictions with regard to the number of advocates appearing for or accompanying VIPs/VVIPs, the petitioner is not entitled to a mandamus as prayed for,” the court said.

The court made the orders on a plea by Advocate N Mahendra Babu. Babu had submitted that while he was attending the Saidapet Court on July 14th, 2023, he witnessed as many as 200 advocates accompanying K Annamalai, the Regional President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who had appeared in the court in connection with a defamation case. Petitioner says this virtually created a stampede both inside and outside the court complex. He also submitted that similar situations have cropped up in the past when Subramanian Swamy had appeared in the Madras High Court in 2009.

Babu further submitted that the court building was as old as the Madras High Court itself and was a heritage building. He added that the building space was not sufficient to the astronomical increase of volume of cases due to population explosion and extension of the City limits.

Babu had argued that in Tamil Nadu it had become a routine culture for politicians to show mass and their popularity while appearing for court hearing. He alleged that politicians are even in the habit of paying money to the advocates while appearing for trial. He added that even media persons were causing havoc and greater degree of nuisance within the court premises.

Thus, he had sought for the State Government, Director General of Police and the Registrar General of the High Court to frame rules as to the maximum number of advocate appearing and accompanying the VIP/VVIP, litigant, and public whenever they appear in the subordinate courts. However, noting that there were no such laws presently, the court dismissed the plea.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr.R.Ganesan

Counsel for Respondent: Mr.B.Vijay, Mr.A.Edwin Prabakar State Government Pleader assisted by Mr.Habeeb Rahman Government Advocate, Mr.C.K.Chandrasekar for the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 421

Case Title: N Mahendra Babu v The Registrar General and Others

Case No: W.P.No.22971 of 2023