BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that advocates do not have the right to park their vehicles inside court premises. While dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate N S Vijayanth Babu, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty observed that while Section 30 of the Advocates’ Act gives the right to advocates to practice law, it does not give them the right park their vehicles inside court premises. “The petition is misconceived as there is no element of public interest involved in it”, the court said.
The petitioner, who is a member of Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru, approached the court seeking quashing of a notice dated August 5, 2022 issued by the Association over the issuance of new vehicle stickers to its members.
The court said that the notice appears to have been issued to regulate the entry of the vehicles used by advocates and intends to find a solution to the parking problem faced by advocates. “We have carefully perused the petition. No particulars have been furnished by the petitioner about the advocates who visit the courts in Bengaluru from outside.
The parking space in the premises of the courts is limited and the entry of the vehicles needs to be regulated. Even if a sticker is issued to an advocate who is member of the Association, the same does not guarantee that the advocate is entitled to use parking space in the premises of the court”, the court said.