CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has lambasted the ‘hooligans’ and ‘rowdy elements’ in black and white attire, who are ‘so called advocates’. “It is the usual modus operandi of any party who wants to take forcible possession or retain possession, engaging certain persons, called ‘advocates’, wearing black and white dress, as hooligans and who are capable of threatening and resisting even the police force. This trend is prevalent for the past few years in Tamil Nadu.
It is a classic case to demonstrate as to why the people do not exhibit their faith either in the judiciary or in the police and have faith only on the persons in black and white claiming themselves as advocates, to be engaged as “paid hooligans” to involve in property disputes. To put it in other words, these alleged lawyers act like extra constitutional authority. Since the incidental issue of highhanded behaviour of the so-called lawyers arise in this matter, this Court has to deal with the said issue instantly in the public interest,” Justice N Kirubakaran has said.
The judge made the observation while passing further interim orders on a batch of writ petitions from Hari Prasad of Arcot and 16 others, all second year students of Annai Medical College and Hospital in Sriperumbudur, which has become defunct, to admit them in some other medical colleges run by the government. When the matter came up on Thursday, the petitioner’s counsel produced some photographs depicting some persons in black and white dress. The judge was told they were ‘advocates’, engaged by ‘some parties’ to the case to retain the college property.
Not amused, the judge said persons with criminal background are entering into the lawyer’s profession by purchasing law degrees from letter pad law colleges, especially from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which are selling law degrees for a price without even conducting regular college.
Another dangerous trend in getting law degree is that those who are employed as full time government servants, persons working in private companies and multinational companies and persons involved in real estate business are acquiring law degrees irregularly in absentia without even attending classes from colleges situated hundreds of miles away from their place. Even the examinations are meddled with and somehow they are able to get degrees. Even those persons are able to secure a pass in the examinations conducted by the Bar Council.
Many such candidates do not even have basic knowledge of English and it is surprising that they are able to write the examinations in English medium in the law colleges situated outside Tamil Nadu. Further, some of those persons, after retiring from service are making use of their irregular law degrees obtained during their service to enrol themselves jeopardising the practice of the younger advocates who are wedded to the profession.
This is a very serious issue, the judge said and directed the Bar Councils to verify whether the candidates, who apply for enrolment, after crossing 40 year of age, have rightly obtained the law degree or not.
These kind of people who purchase law degrees from letter pad institutions do not prefer to practice before the court, but prefer only to indulge in “Katta Panchayat”, under the guise of resolving civil disputes, he said.
After impleading the Bar Council of India, its Tamil Nadu unit, Union Law Ministry and State Law secretary, DGP and other top police personnel in Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram and Chennai districts, the judge directed them to answer a set of 25 queries raised by him to check and remedy the situation.