The Madras High Court has temporarily suspended its earlier order requiring lawyers to affix their photographs and other details on vakalats as a measure to keep out bogus lawyers.
The high court has suspended the order until January 22, 2018. It had been initially set to come into force starting January 2.
Order Prompted By A Fraud Scheme
Justice S Vaidyanathan had passed the order this November asking the advocates filings cases to affix their photo identify card along with other details like enrolment number, residential and office address and contact number, on all vakalats filed by them. He had also ordered all anticipatory bail applications be filed as affidavits bearing the signature of the advocate on every page.
The Judge passed the order after discovering a fraud scheme operated by a group of litigants, who had filed several bail applications at the same time.
However with all advocates associations persuading the court against the measure, the order has been temporarily suspended.
Lawyers To Give Suggestions
Justice Vaidyanathan noted that the order had been suspended due to the bar associates requesting more time to be given to them for submitting their suggestions for elimination of fake lawyers from the system.
He however stated that the suggestions must reach the court before January 22.
The judge initially refused to modify or recall the order when approached by the Bar Association, stating that “genuine legal practitioners” would not object to such orders. But after several other associations, including Madras Bar Association, joined hands to make a similar request, the judge decided to suspend the order temporarily.
