A clash between advocates and policemen recently came to the notice of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after a policeman filed a complaint..The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council was informed that in November 2018, around 15 persons “dressed in black pant and white shirt” barged into a police station claiming to be lawyers, although not all of them showed their ID cards. The group then proceeded to get into a heated argument with the policemen..The crowd had initially assembled before a local shop in a show of support for a money lender. They appeared to have been incensed by the the directions of the police to disburse, as well as the apparent reluctance to file a criminal complaint in the case..However, the gathering, at least two of whom were identified by their ID cards as lawyers, turned violent in the police station as well. CCTV footage from that evening also attested to their barging into the police station. In connection with the same, the police also registered an FIR..Further, a complaint was also placed before the TN Bar Council. The Disciplinary Committee of R Singaravelan and N Chandrasekharan took serious note of the issue, observing,.“The lawyer is meant for guiding the law and the police is meant for implementing the law. When both fight with each other the implementation of law will be a helpless child crying between the fighting father and mother..…Being the advocates, the respondents have no authority in law to enter the police station with a group of persons alleged to be advocates. The advocates of noble profession are expected to maintain their dignity not only in the Court room but also in the society..The advocates who enter into the police station on behalf of their client are expected to maintain decorum and peaceful atmosphere in the police station…”.The errant lawyers were, however, let off with a warning after they tendered unconditional apologies for their conduct before the Disciplinary Committee. Further, the Committee also noted the fact that there was no concrete evidence to establish that they alone were responsible for disturbing the peaceful atmosphere at the police station on the said day. The police also agreed to withdraw the complaint on the unconditional apology being submitted..Before parting with the matter, the Committee also observed that the general friction between lawyers and policemen in such matters could be eased to some extent, if the police were more proactive in responding to complaints made by aggrieved persons. As observed in the order,.“While we hold unhesitatingly that the respondents have no authority in law to enter into the police station with such a huge crowd and pick up a wordy quarrel with the police, we also point out that such an incident would have been avoided by the police official by receiving a complaint and giving CSR Number to the complainant stating that they would take appropriate legal action on their complaint soon.“.On a related note, the Disciplinary Committee also suggested that some of the complaints conventionally filed with police authorities be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Tamil Nadu Legal Aid Board. As noted in the order,.“Tamil Nadu Legal Aid Board can be entrusted with the dealing of complaints related to matrimonial, monetary and criminally tainted civil disputes. Such an entrustment does not only reduce the burden of the police officials who deal with real criminals and anti-social elements, but also bring reputation and utmost confidence to the public on the police station and justice delivery system. Further, huge filing of cases and the considerable consumption of time in disposal of FIR and criminal case will be shown their exit by the above entrustment to the legal Aid board. “.Read the Order:
A clash between advocates and policemen recently came to the notice of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after a policeman filed a complaint..The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council was informed that in November 2018, around 15 persons “dressed in black pant and white shirt” barged into a police station claiming to be lawyers, although not all of them showed their ID cards. The group then proceeded to get into a heated argument with the policemen..The crowd had initially assembled before a local shop in a show of support for a money lender. They appeared to have been incensed by the the directions of the police to disburse, as well as the apparent reluctance to file a criminal complaint in the case..However, the gathering, at least two of whom were identified by their ID cards as lawyers, turned violent in the police station as well. CCTV footage from that evening also attested to their barging into the police station. In connection with the same, the police also registered an FIR..Further, a complaint was also placed before the TN Bar Council. The Disciplinary Committee of R Singaravelan and N Chandrasekharan took serious note of the issue, observing,.“The lawyer is meant for guiding the law and the police is meant for implementing the law. When both fight with each other the implementation of law will be a helpless child crying between the fighting father and mother..…Being the advocates, the respondents have no authority in law to enter the police station with a group of persons alleged to be advocates. The advocates of noble profession are expected to maintain their dignity not only in the Court room but also in the society..The advocates who enter into the police station on behalf of their client are expected to maintain decorum and peaceful atmosphere in the police station…”.The errant lawyers were, however, let off with a warning after they tendered unconditional apologies for their conduct before the Disciplinary Committee. Further, the Committee also noted the fact that there was no concrete evidence to establish that they alone were responsible for disturbing the peaceful atmosphere at the police station on the said day. The police also agreed to withdraw the complaint on the unconditional apology being submitted..Before parting with the matter, the Committee also observed that the general friction between lawyers and policemen in such matters could be eased to some extent, if the police were more proactive in responding to complaints made by aggrieved persons. As observed in the order,.“While we hold unhesitatingly that the respondents have no authority in law to enter into the police station with such a huge crowd and pick up a wordy quarrel with the police, we also point out that such an incident would have been avoided by the police official by receiving a complaint and giving CSR Number to the complainant stating that they would take appropriate legal action on their complaint soon.“.On a related note, the Disciplinary Committee also suggested that some of the complaints conventionally filed with police authorities be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Tamil Nadu Legal Aid Board. As noted in the order,.“Tamil Nadu Legal Aid Board can be entrusted with the dealing of complaints related to matrimonial, monetary and criminally tainted civil disputes. Such an entrustment does not only reduce the burden of the police officials who deal with real criminals and anti-social elements, but also bring reputation and utmost confidence to the public on the police station and justice delivery system. Further, huge filing of cases and the considerable consumption of time in disposal of FIR and criminal case will be shown their exit by the above entrustment to the legal Aid board. “.Read the Order:
