The new rule against lawyers in Madras High Court

The new rule against lawyers in Madras High Court
I am informed that the Madras High Court Judges have amended the High Court rules and have assumed to themselves power to debar lawyers in certain situations.

I regret I cannot approve of this decision

Firstly, it is against the decision of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in V.C. Mishra's case ( Supreme Court Bar Association vs. Union of India ) which has held that only the Bar Council can debar lawyers, not Courts

Of course it is also stated in this decision " In a given case it may be possible, for this Court or the High Court, to prevent the contemner advocate to appear before it till he purges himself of the contempt but that is much different from suspending or revoking his licence or debarring him to practice as an advocate ". This observation only means that a judge can prohibit a delinquent lawyer from appearing before him until he has purged himself, and not that the lawyer can be debarred from appearing in any court in the state.,

Secondly, in my opinion an upright and learned judge will rarely have to take any action against lawyers. If one lawyer misbehaves with him, dozens will come in his support if he has the reputation of integrity and fairness. The best armour of a judge is his reputation of integrity, fairness and learning. If some allegation is made against a judge, either the allegation is correct, in which case he deserves it, or it is false, in which case he should ignore it.

I remember once when I was sitting in my chamber at lunchtime in the Madras High Court, two senior judges came to meet me looking very upset. It appeared that a leaflet had been circulated against them calling them fools.

On reading the leaflet I started laughing. At this they got even more upset, and said to me, "Chief, we have been defamed, and you are laughing." I replied, "Look, you better learn how to ignore all this, or you will get blood pressure. So many things are said in a democracy and you must develop a thick skin, as these are occupational hazards."

At this the judges tore up the leaflet and also started laughing

I would often say to lawyers in Court that you can call me a fool or a crook inside court or outside it, but I will not take any action. The only time I will take action is if you do not allow me to work. For instance if you jump on to the dias, grab my file and run away with it, I obviously cannot decide the case. After all, I have to justify my salary

In R. Vs. Commr. of Police (1968) 2 QB 150 Lord Denning observed, "Let me say at once that we will never use this jurisdiction to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it. For there is something far more important at stake. It is no less than freedom of speech itself…All that we ask is that those who criticize us should remember that, from the nature of our duties, we cannot reply to their criticism. We cannot enter into public controversy. We must rely on our conduct itself to be its own vindication".

Sometimes an upright judge is unjustifiably criticized. The best course of action for such a judge is to ignore baseless criticism (but pay heed to honest and correct criticism). He should have broad enough shoulders to shrug off baseless comments without getting perturbed or influenced.

Once a British newspaper ran a banner headline calling the majority judges of the House of Lords who decided the Spycatcher case ( Attorney General vs. Guardian Newspaper, 1987 3 AllE.R.316) "YOU FOOLS". Mr. Fali Nariman, who was present in England at that time, asked Lord Templeman, who was one of the majority, why the Judges did not take contempt action. Lord Templeman smiled, and said that judges in England took no notice of personal insults. Although he did not regard himself as a fool, others were entitled to their opinion.

In Balogh vs Crown Court at Albon (1975) AC 373, the defendant told the Judge "You are a humourless automaton. Why don't you self destruct?". The judge smiled, but took no action.

I am informed that there are some corrupt judges in the Madras High Court ( as in many other High Courts ), though there are many honest judges there too. While I do not approve of misbehaviour by lawyers, corruption among judges naturally agitates people who want justice. Delay is also a cause of people's anger

In my opinion by making the new rule, the High Court has acted like King Canute who tried to drive off the waves