CHENNAI:Finally, the Bar Council of India in New Delhi, the statutory body governing the legal education and profession, has nominated three former Chief Justices and retired judges to hold election to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTN&P), and announced the election date as March 28.
A resolution was adopted at the general body meeting of the BCI on January 21, says its communication issued on Monday.
The communication referred to a letter written by the Madras High Court Advocate-General, Vijay Narayan, who is also the ex-officio chairman of the special committee, on January 15 and another one dated January 16 from the other two committee members -- senior advocate R Singaravelan and former CBI Public Prosecutor Chandrasekaran - seeking appointment of a retired judge/judges of the Madras High Court to conduct the election. This committee was constituted long ago to look after the day-to-day functions of the BCTN&P and to conduct the election.
“As all special committee members have requested this council (BCI) to appoint retired judges of the Madras High Court to hold free and fair elections to the BCTN&P, this council resolves to appoint three retired Chief Justices and retired judges of the High Courts for looking after the election affairs and further this council resolves to appoint Justice GM Akbar Ali, another retired judge of the Madras High Court, as the Returning Officer to conduct the elections,” the communication said.
The election date for the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be March 28. The election schedule shall be published in the official gazette and in two daily newspapers on January 25. Nominations can be filed from February 1 to 15. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is February 22. The list of final candidates will be announced on March 1 and poll will be conducted on March 28.
Plea to book criminal case against Jaya’s mysterious death rejected
Chennai: A plea for a direction to the Thousand Lights police station, under whose jurisdiction the Apollo Hospitals is coming where former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convalescing and later died on December 5, 2016, to register a criminal case and probe the mysterious death, was rejected by the Madras High Court on Monday. In fact, the petition from activist AK Velan sought to set aside an order of a lower court, rejecting his plea to direct the Thousand Lights police to register an FIR on the alleged mysterious death of Jayalalithaa. Justice MV Muralidaran, who dismissed the criminal revision petition and confirmed the order of the XIV Metropolitan Magistrate dated June 27, 2017, directed the petitioner to approach the Inquiry Commission headed by Justice A Arumughaswamy, within two weeks. According to the petitioner, Jayalalithaa was admitted in the Apollo Hospitals on September 22, 2016. On December 5, she died in a suspicious manner after getting 74 days’ treatment at the hospital. There were no transparent medical reports from the hospital regarding the treatment given to her. He lodged a complaint with the XIV MM to direct the police to register a case of ‘suspicious death’. But it was dismissed by the magistrate on June 27 last year. Hence, the present petition before the High Court, he added.