HC reserves orders on advocate's plea challenging suspension

The Madras High Court bench here today reserved orders on a petition by a former office-bearer of an adovates' association, who is among the lawyers suspended by the Bar Council of India in connection with protests held in the court, challenging his suspension and constitution of the disciplinary committee.
A bench, comprising Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice N. Kirubakaran, reserved orders without specifying any date after hearing arguments.
In his petition, former president of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court Advocates Association S.Thirunavukarasu sought to quash the suspension and disciplinary proceedings contending that they were illegal and arbitrary.
He claimed that he was not present in the two protests held by a group of lawyers -- one in the high court's principal seat in Chennai on September 14 demanding that Tamil be declared as official language and the other here on September 16.

Action had been initiated against him because he was former president of the association.
Besides, he contended that the general body of the Tamil Nadu and Pududcherry Bar Council(TPBC) alone had the right to take disciplinary action since the suspended lawyers were enrolled with it.

The Bar Council of India Chairman had no jurisdiction to suspend the lawyers since he was only an appellate authority. The order per se was illegal, he argued.
He said he would not indulge in any act which the court would consider inappropriate or improper.
He would refrain from the Bar activities. Because of the suspension, his livelihood had been affected. Hence, he sought to quash the supension and the disciplinary committee.

The Advocate for the Bar Council of India said it had enough evidence against those who had been suspended, including video recordings, and the disciplinary proceedings were going on.