Consider legislation to bar criminals from practising: HC

Madras High Court today asked the Centre to consider prohibiting persons with pending cases or criminals from entering legal profession and said Bar Councils shall not enroll such law graduates except where cases are bailable and of compoundable offences.
In a note of caution, the court said criminalisation of bar has "already started and is spreading like a wild fire sullying, degrading and destroying image and prestige of the noble advocates profession" and said the central government should at the earliest consider revisiting the provisions of Advocates Act or introducing new section.
The observation was made by Justice N Kirubakaran, while passing an interim order on a petition by S M Anantha Murugan seeking a direction to prevent "intrusion" of persons having criminal antecedents without legally studying Bachelor of Law Degree.

The judge, in his order, said the Bar Council of India shall direct the state Bar Councils not to enroll any law graduates with pending criminal cases except bailable cases attracting punishment upto three years and compoundable offences involving matrimonial, family and civil disputes, till the changes were brought in the Advocates Act and BCI rules.