Advocates are not above the Law : Madras High Court

A single bench of Justice M Dhandapani made these significant observations while considering the anticipatory bail application of a lawyer, who was accused of publicly intimidating police officials who had stopped her vehicle for travelling in violation of lockdown. The visuals of the lawyer threatening the cops had got public in media.

The Court observed that advocates are also common citizens and they are not above the law.

"An advocate is also a citizen, as common as all the other persons. Only because of his avocation and his social minded acts, the advocates rise up the pedestal and in fact that is the reason the law has given them the stature to question even the police. But that stature should be used in a legal and lawful manner without maligning the reputation and position of any individual person or any official of the Government.

It is further to be stressed that advocates are not above law and, in fact, it is the advocates who have to give more respect to the law, as it is their bread and butter. Usage of the position of advocate for other than just causes is nothing but an act of corrupt nature, which requires to be cut down by the sword held in the hands of the statue of Justice.

Bar Council should take suo moto action

The Court said that Bar Council should take suo moto action against any unprofessional conduct of a lawyer which comes to its knowledge.

"Any unprofessional conduct of a member of the legal profession, coming to the knowledge of the Bar Council through the visual media for which no complaint emanates from any quarter, can the Bar Council allow that instance to go unnoticed for the mere reason that the Advocates Act does not envisage suo motu action. Introspection is the need of the hour for the legal profession to survive and have its deep rooted traditions intact," the Court remarked.

Since instances of advocates going beyond their brief are on the increase, the Court observed that that the Bar Council should be more proactive.

"Though this Court cannot give any positive direction to the Bar Council to do one thing or the other, as it is not vested with jurisdiction ... it is high time the Bar Council enforces Section 35 of the Advocates Act, which gives it the power and authority to initiate action suo motu on the incidents, which comes to its knowledge through the digital/print media, for which there is no complaint given by any individual," the order said.

Advocates cannot take law into their hands

"Advocates should not take law into their own hands on the premise that they are the custodian of law; on the contrary, the advocates being the custodian of law, are bound to act within the legal framework, even if there is violation of law and establish the rule of law through the well defined mechanism. Any deviation from the said act would take away the said individual out of the legal fraternity and brand them otherwise, which would be scar on the legal profession as also the individual, who is practicing the profession".

Criminal contempt action initiated against lawyer who spread derogatory audio messages against the judge

In the same order, Justice Dhandapani initiated criminal contempt proceedings against a lawyer for the derogatory audio messages shared by him in WhatsApp against the judge.