The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) has suspended from practice, two a couple of advocates who have been booked in two different murder cases. It has also passed suspension orders against two more advocates facing charges of entering a court hall inebriated, breaking window panes and threatening court staff.
According to a notification issued by BCTNP secretary C. Rajakumar on Wednesday, advocate S. Theivakannan of Srivaikundam Taluk in Thoothukudi district has been booked in a murder case by the Seidunganallur police. Hence, the Bar Council has restrained him from practising law before any forum until the disposal of the criminal case.
A similar prohibitory order was passed against advocate S. Thiyagarajan of Dadagapatti in Salem district since he too, has been booked in a murder case registered at the Ammapettai police station this year.
While Mr. Theivakannan enrolled with the Bar Council in 2009, Mr. Thiyagarajan enrolled in 2013, and both had been practising law since then.
Apart from these two lawyers, the BCTNP had initiated disciplinary proceedings against advocates K. Sundarrajan of Avadi in Chennai and E. Ganeshan of Ambattur on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Ambattur Judicial Magistrate stating that the duo had entered the court hall inebriated and created a ruckus. The Ambattur police in Chennai had registered a case against the two lawyers under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act of 1992. Both the lawyers were arrested and remanded to judicial custody, and hence the Bar council suspended them from practice until the completion of disciplinary proceedings.
Further, the BCTNP held disciplinary proceedings against advocate M. Sreedhar of Ponniammanmedu in Chennai for allegedly not disclosing his employment elsewhere at the time of his enrolment with the bar council in 2010 and suspended him from practice until the completion of the inquiry by an in-house disciplinary committee.
It took similar action against M. Vinothkumar of Sikkanthar Chavadi in Madurai. The charge against him was that he had suppressed the pendency of a criminal case and also that he was self employed at the time of his enrolment with the bar council in 2018.
The BCTNP revoked the suspension of advocate P.R. Adikesavan who was found guilty of criminal contempt of court in March 2002 and prohibited from practising in the High Court for a period of one year. Then, a Division Bench had punished him for having prevented the police from executing a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him. “The prohibitory order passed against him (on May 4, 2022) is revoked... Therefore, he is entitled to practice as advocate in all courts, tribunals and other authorities,” the BCTNP notification read.
