A section of lawyers have planned to stage a demonstration outside the Madras High Court campus and the district court campuses across the State on Monday, July 24, 2023, demanding the withdrawal of a circular issued by the High Court administration on July 7, stating that no other statues or portraits, except those of Mahatma Gandhi and poet-saint Tiruvalluvar, should be permitted inside court complexes in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The circular issued by Registrar General (in-charge) M. Jothiraman stated it had been brought to the notice of the High Court Registry that representations were being received from advocates associations from time to time seeking permission to display portraits of B.R. Ambedkar and also of some senior advocates in some district court premises. However, the RG, said, the issue had been considered by the Full Court (a body comprising all judges of the High Court) on multiple occasions.
A resolution passed by the Full Court on October 22, 2008 rejected the request of Tamil Nadu B.R. Ambedkar Advocates Association to install portraits of national leaders in all court halls in the State. Further, on March 11, 2010, the Full Court resolved that henceforth there shall be no more erection of any statue in any of the court premises whether at the principal seat of the High Court in Chennai or its Madurai Bench or in any district or taluk court subordinate to the High Court.
