CHENNAI: Madras high court has directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to collect data on lawyers and law graduates with criminal backgrounds to address the issue of persons with criminal antecedents enrolling as advocates and later becoming office-bearers of Bar associations.“The Bar councils may consider engaging competent researchers or constituting an appropriate committee to undertake a detailed survey regarding the number of practicing advocates facing criminal prosecutions, the nature of such offences, whether the alleged offences relate to the period prior to enrolment or subsequent thereto, the number of office-bearers of various Bar associations who are facing criminal cases,” the court said.Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the order on a plea moved by advocate B Jagadeeshwaran, challenging a criminal case registered against him.During the course of hearing on Wednesday, the court noticed an increasing trend. In one category of cases, it is contended that the petitioners were already arrayed as accused in criminal cases before their enrolment as advocates and that such pendency of criminal proceedings cannot, by itself, be a ground to deny them the right to practice the profession.In another category of cases, allegations are made that certain advocates continue to indulge in criminal activities even after enrolment. It is further noticed that, in several instances, such persons eventually become office-bearers / leaders of various Bar associations, the court said.“There can be no dispute with the settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that the mere registration of an FIR does not attach any stigma to a person. Every accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law. This fundamental principle cannot be diluted,” the judge said.However, when persons facing multiple criminal prosecutions become members of the Bar and thereafter aspire to occupy leadership positions in Bar associations, the issue assumes a different dimension, the court added.
