Hundreds of lawyers protest near Madras High Court

Hundreds of lawyers on Monday held a protest near the Madras High Court against the amendments to the rules under the Advocates Act prescribing disciplinary action against unruly advocates.

Police personnel in large numbers were deployed and barricades have been put up on the roads as security measures.

The tension escalated a bit when the protesting lawyers tried to remove the iron barricades and enter the High Court premises. However, they were prevented by the police.

Lawyers from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were on the protest.

Traffic in the area was also disrupted.

On Saturday, the Bar Council of India (BCI) suspended 126 lawyers in Tamil Nadu from its roster.

Included amongst the suspended lawyers are 21 members of the Joint Action Committee leading the protest against the amendments to the Advocate Act.

"The High Court could have prevented the issue from escalating if it had announced that the new rules would be kept in abeyance," Radhakrishnan, an advocate told a news channel.

According to the lawyers, the power to take disciplinary action against an advocate lies only with the Bar Council and not with the judges.

In May, the Madras High Court notified amendment of the rules under the Advocates Act prescribing disciplinary action aganst unruly lawyers so as to ensure peaceful conduct of the court proceedings.