Around 1200 Tamil Nadu advocates await enrolment with the state bar council (SBC) which has not issued any enrolment certificates in four months.
The Madras high court (HC) had in a May interim order directed the SBC to issue enrolment certificates only after verifying that applicants had no criminal record.
Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chairman D Selvam said: “It is not our fault. The problem is, somebody filed a case that the criminal offence background [of the applicants] should be verified [before enrolling them]. Now there is a judicial order, an interim order, [mandating] police verification.”
A June 2013 graduate, whose enrolment application is pending with the SBC since June, told Legally India that three different departments – law and order, intelligence and crime – separately verified the criminal records of each applicant now. The national law university (NLU) graduate from outside Tamil Nadu said that his batch mates in another state had already received their enrolment certificates.
SBC general secretary V Dakshanamoorthy said that results of verification for candidates enrolling from Chennai had not yet been received, while results from other areas had come through. This was the reason why issuance of enrolment certificates was still pending, he said, without commenting on an expected date for completion of the process.
An advocate practicing before the Madurai bench of the Madras HC, V Ramesh, in WP 10315/2013 had petitioned the HC to order the SBC to examine the authenticity of the practice certificates of existing advocates, the law colleges they graduated from, the attendance registers of such colleges, their school certificates, college degrees, their criminal antecedents and other data that could show up an advocate as “fake”.
He contended in his writ petition:
“The Noble Legal profession is being polluted on account of individuals being enrolled as advocates even without under going, school and college education. The outcome of this degradation is that anti social elements, [third] rated politicians and persons involved in questionable illegal activities have entered the Legal profession, Courts of law and Advocate Associations throughout of the State of Tamil Nadu. These unscrupulous elements are involving themselves in kangaroo courts, illegal real estate dealings, police criminal nexus and other degrading activities through the LLB degrees procured from other States namely Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.”
“Instead of studying law degree on a regular basis LLB degrees are being sold and bought for a meager price in Universities functioning in other States. The law degree is obtained without attending regular college and also examinations are not written by the applicants but by the agents of the brokers, who engage themselves in seat-laundering for the candidates in Tamil Nadu.”
“LLB seats are obtained by producing bogus certificates procured by brokers and based upon the same degrees are obtained and subsequently, these candidates are enrolled as advocates in Tamil Nadu and subsequently become members of Bar Associations etc. Further employees of Government, Public Sector undertakings, Private Sector become lawyers by applying for LLB in other States, which is totally illegal because while being employed, nobody can undergo legal education and obtain a profession degree in law, as if done in cases of distant education.”
The petitioner swore that he possessed a recorded conversation between a LLB degree broker and a person bargaining for the seat, with “all the delicate particulars of the illegal education ring”.
Reserving judgment in the case justice N Kirubakaran, as reported by The Hindu observed: “In view of the fact that there are more than 100 law colleges in Karnataka and about 100 law colleges in Andhra Pradesh, the Bar Councils and the Chief Secretaries of the two States have to explain what is the necessity for so many law colleges.”
In his interim order, he directed the SBC to conduct criminal verification and refused to stay the enrolment of fresh graduates, but said that their enrolment would be subject to the outcome of the case.
Photo by Balu Velachery
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Andhra and Karnataka Law colleges are the culprits. Know about many people who visit the Courts as criminals, accused, etc., has purchased law degrees and enrolled as lawyers now.
The govt employees/private sector employees in regular employment has the guts to enrol for Law Course in other states, while they are in salaried jobs.
Has a degree in Law become much easier that a kinder garden exam.
As a result, we find unparliamentary words being used during arguments, strikes for no valid reason.
A person should have some basic integrity and discipline to enter the noble profession.
Having said that, any judgement which causes unreasonable loss of livelihood is a bad judgement, unless it addresses the concerns of those who are not at fault. Failure by the State to prevent sale of law degrees to “many” culprits cannot be a ground to deny enrollment to a “few” genuine law graduates. I have not seen anything that suggests that the Court has indefinitely stayed the enrollment of law graduates of the State of Tamil Nadu – it is possibly the Bar Council which is refusing to act, based on its interpretation of the order – but, if the Court has done so, then it is a judgement which is likely to be reversed if appealed.
FYI, none of those LLB guys/gals from Andhra or Karnataka ever attend classes and as you said have paid huge amount of money to regularize attendance, to manipulate marksheets, to pass exams.
Just bcoz some idiot have been selling law degree for money, it does not mean the trend should continue.
Justice Kirbakran and Adv. Ramesh had done a commendable job to save the profession.
Atleast from now, rowdies, goons, anti-socials do not enter legal profession with bought-out LLB from Andhra and Karnataka.
The case of LLB degree graduates is a witch hunt or at best a private vendetta. Here is how - 1. The Bar Council of India has appropriately implemented the Bar council Exam which has to be written to renew registration of lawyers in the Bar council. If they do not write or do not pass the Bar council Exam the lawyers will fail to renew their registration. This is an acid test which will stop the defaulting lawyers from practicing and declaring themselves as lawyers. This is similar to the Microsoft's Firewall. 2. Academic irregularities should not be brought into the professional field. They should be dealt separately and diligently within the academic sphere. 3. If the Madurai High Court has received a list of criminal lawyers from the Police then they should be published and perused as to how many of them are B. L. graduates and how many are LLB graduates. Academic irregularities can be dealt in the same way as the Engineering colleges are dealt if they do not have the requirements fulfilled. This can be done by checking the requirements through Academically credited monitoring bodies.
So it is clear that there are measures which are in place but not effectively used to mitigate criminally inclined lawyers. And on the other side there are certain quality check mechanisms lacking and we need to work on that. Therefore, the case in Madurai court is frivolous and time consuming wasting precious time and money which can be used to give justice to the common man. LLB is LLB and there can be no limits to it. We need to learn from the International institutions to allow education, qualification to give wings to the talents and services of those interested in a particular field without any age bar or stigma. Thank You.
filing of writ petition by mr ramesh advocate is not acceptable. first they are alleging that llb degree holder should not practise in tamilnadu ,when he felt that this plea is not reasonable and unfair, because llb degree is legally recognised by bar council of india as well as advocate act 1961, but this attempt by advocate not yield result as he think, then alleged that the person who comes from llb degree from karnataka and other state studying and got admission after 35 years,and then he is alleging that llb degrees are sold in mere price in karnataka and other states, so serious of allegation made by petitioner revealed that there is reason or jealous behind this petition of petitioner. just iam openly asking the petitioner that could u provide llb degree in mere
price at present situation, if the petitioner prove that he can provide llb degree in mere price then we accept this allegatiion is true, but only having telephone conversation about the dealing of llb degrees is not sufficient to prove this allegations .this case must be decided after going and discussing with all state bar councils and ask comments regarding the llb course. the decision by single judge is unfair and lying for appeal against this decision. as far as age restriction, to bring age restriction only can not bring quality in legal profession, the better way to constitute a committee under retired and serving judge to visit colleges and receiving comments from universities and after analysing the reply from all , then only decision should be taken, by the only statement and teleconversation of two members is not the sufficient reasons. the verdict should be based on that " hundred criminals can be punished but one innocent should not be punished " so the decision taken by any authority after proper verifcation be followed, dont ply with life of llb holders,without any proper evidence , if find then struck down the concerned person name from bar council list, but not to blame all person who got llb in proper study . think before going to do anything .it is my sincere request.
You must be one among all frauds who do not attend classes, clear exams and practicals by paying money.
Touch you heart and say you had attended college all 3/5 years in Karnatak or AP. You will work for an organization and in the meantime buy a law degree from some state and come to practice law. Do you think the students who study hard by attending classses every working day (without going to job and supporting their family financially during college days) are fools.
Just because its a bar council recognized degree it does not absolve you from charges of obtaining it by practising fraud. Every single person in TN with law degree from Karnatak and AP are frauds. So dont try to gain sympathy by projecting you are with clean hands when you yourself had obtained law degree by fraud.
If the law degree is obtained improper manner, then the university or the Bar council are responsible. Both the bar council and the university should monitor the law colleges and regularize the course.
If the LLB Degree holders getting law degree, then the court may order for bio metric attendance in all law colleges in India.
Instead of that refusing the LLB advocate to practice or refusing to enroll in bar council is unethical acts.
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