The elective system had made functioning of Bar Council a mockery
Madras High Court
Chennai: Observing that the legal profession is neither “an asylum for criminals nor law degrees shield for their criminal activities”, the Madras high court on Tuesday suggested to the Central Government to amend the Advocates’ Act 1961 to cleanse the profession and to introduce five-year law course.
The elective system had made functioning of Bar Council a mockery. The members are said to be sponsoring law colleges, which sell degrees without even conducting classes and without attendance, on payment of Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Many law colleges appoint local agents to canvass and to give spot admission in law colleges as seen from many advertisements by the said agents.
He said, “It is also evident that many cases, which have been referred to BCI , appear to be pending for more than five years or 10 years and consequently, those lawyers, who are facing Bar Council action go scot-free. Bar Councils have been recognising more Bar/advocates' associations in each Court, for various reasons, mostly based on communities and other considerations dividing advocates on communal and religious basis. Often, there are many clashes between the associations."
Therefore, time has come to entrust the functions of the Bar Council with an expert body or a body of persons of reputed legal luminaries, academicians, educationalists, doctors, retired I.A.S & I.P.S. officers so that the functions are carried out effectively and objectively in the interest of legal profession and justice delivery system, the judge said.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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