MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought response from the Bar Council of India (BCI), Tamil Nadu law department and the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought enactment of Advocates Protection Act in TN.
The litigant C Susikumar, an advocate from Theni, stated that there has been a rise in the number of attacks on advocates across India. This has created need for a special law for the safety of the legal fraternity from violence and intimidation, he added.
He also cited media reports and claimed that at least 13 advocates have been hacked to death between 2010 and 2025, with the recent one being the murder of a 40-year-old advocate Pagalavan in Madurai o n September 4. Pointing out that states like Karnataka and Rajasthan have introduced legislations to protect advocates, he sought the above direction.
A bench comprising justices Anita Sumanth noted that a draft legislation has already been prepared and is pending. The judges suo motu impleaded the state law department and the bar councils and directed them to submit the aforementioned draft before the court, besides filing a response in the case on the steps taken so far, by the next hearing on October 17.