Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, on June 3, said that the proposed rally by the High Court Advocates' Association and Women Lawyers' Association which will be held on June 6, to protest against the amendments made to existing rules under the Advocates Act, was "unwarranted".
The amendments were neither brought suddenly nor was it made in a single day, he told the reporters.
According to the amendment, the court has the power under 14-A of Advocates Act to debar advocates who indulge in activities such as trying to influence a judge, participate in a procession inside the court campus or holds placards inside the court hall, among others.
Such advocates shall be debarred from appearing before the High Court or the subordinate courts permanently or for a period as the court may think fit. The Registrar General shall thereupon report it to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, it said.
"No representatives of the association gave any suggestion or raised any objection or showed any apprehension over the framing of rules. The Judges Committee has only implemented the directions of the Supreme Court," the Chief Justice said.
He added, "If there were any apprehension, the associations were well within their limits to approach the Apex Court. The High Court is still ready to consider any suggestions provided by the representatives of the bar."
"The rules were framed after due deliberations and the committee had placed the rules before the Full Court which finally approved it. Thereafter, the rules were notified in the Government Gazette on May 25. Now the advocates cannot claim that they are not aware of it. There is no question of ignorance," Justice Kaul said.
Responsible for abiding by the directives of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Kaul said, "The amendments were the verbatim of the Supreme Court illustrations. The committee just reproduced it. I do not understand why the advocates are protesting."
"There was a peace for the last nine months and this unnecessary deviation is unwarranted. The High Court is even now ready to consider the suggestions if the associations put it forward before the committee," he added.
