CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTP) that any action relating to prohibiting 742 advocates, who were sent show-cause notices barring them from practising, should be subject to the result of a writ petition.
The petitioner, Advocate V.S. Nagaraj, sought to quash the resolution passed by the BCTP on August 9, 2017 to issue show-cause notices to the advocates who got basic degrees from open universities.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar in their interim order said, “Any action taken by the BCTP is subject to the result of the writ petition. We request the BCTP not to take any action without the leave of the court.” Nagaraj said Justice N Kirubakaran’s direction to the BCTP was a public interest matter and a single judge hearing the matter was ‘unfair, unreasonable and ultra virus to the Advocates Act-1961 and Article 142 of the Constitution.’
The bench directed the BCTP to first issue show-cause notices and to call for the representations of the advocates for the SCNs. It also directed the BCTP to file counter, if so desired, within three weeks and get rejoinder, if any, from the petitioner thereafter.