Consider legislation to bar criminals from practising: HC

Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to consider prohibiting persons with pending cases or criminals from entering legal profession and said Bar Councils shall not enroll such law graduates except where cases are bailable and of compoundable offences, reports PTI.

In a note of caution, the court said criminalisation of bar has "already started and is spreading like a wild fire sullying, degrading and destroying image and prestige of the noble advocates profession" and said the central government should at the earliest consider revisiting the provisions of Advocates Act or introducing new section.

The observation was made by Justice N Kirubakaran, while passing an interim order on a petition by S M Anantha Murugan seeking a direction to prevent "intrusion" of persons having criminal antecedents without legally studying Bachelor of Law Degree.

The judge, in his order, said the Bar Council of India shall direct the state Bar Councils not to enroll any law graduates with pending criminal cases except bailable cases attracting punishment upto three years and compoundable offences involving matrimonial, family and civil disputes, till the changes were brought in the Advocates Act and BCI rules. The judge, in the 112-page order, said the Bar Council of India shall direct the State Bar Councils to get antecedents verification of all law graduates compulsorily, from their native place as well as from the place of study, from police for enrollment.

He said the Bar Council of India shall direct the State Bar Councils not to enroll any law graduate, who had already suffered conviction in any criminal case. "The Bar Council of India shall direct the State Bar Councils not to enroll any person, who have been dismissed or removed from service or left the services consequent to departmental/inhouse proceedings." "To revoke provisional enrollment of the law graduates on conviction after issuing showcause notice unless the setting aside of conviction is informed to the Bar Council with a certified copy of the judgment." He directed that the BCI shall direct all law colleges to get police verification certificates compulsorily before admitting the candidates to the law degree course.

Police, on their part, must send antecedent verification certificates within three weeks to respective bar councils, Justice Kirubakaran said. The judge, who gave 14 directions to the Centre and the Bar Council of India, directed the Centre to implement the recommendation of the Supreme court on introduction of pre-enrollment training (Apprenticeship) to law graduates. The BCI should not conduct the next bar council elections in 2016 without prescribing minimum qualification like 20 years standing in the bar or a senior counsel not having any criminal background for candidates to contest in council polls. "BCI shall reduce the number of seats in law colleges drastically and the number of law colleges, as the population of advocates is increasing enormously year after year."

It should direct the "state Bar Councils to withdraw the recognition/approval given to various Bar/Advocates Associations for the past 20 years maintaining one court-one Bar Association except older associations." The judge then posted the matter for further hearing to October 28.