Congrats rcp sir by ex president wla
[4/7, 07:58] Sekarreporter 1: IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
W.P. No. of 2020
R.C.PAUL KANAGARAJ
S/o Thiru.K.Raja Singh Christoper
No.2/30, Lettangs Road,
Vepery, Chennai – 600 007.
…Petitioner
-Vs-
Bar Council of India
Rep. by its Secretary
21, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area,
Near Bal Bhawan,
New Delhi – 110 002.
Bar Council of Tamil Nadu & Puduchery
Rep. by its Secretary
Madras High Court Campus
Chennai – 600 104.
Advocate General of Tamil Nadu,
(in his capacity as Ex-Officio Member of
Bar Council of TN & Puduchery)
Madras High Court Campus
Chennai – 600 104.
… Respondents
AFFIDAVIT OF R.C.PAUL KANAGARAJ
I, R.C.Paul Kanagaraj, son of Thiru.K.Raja Singh Christoper, aged about 54 years, residing at No.2/30, Lettangs Road, Vepery, Chennai – 600 007, do hereby solemnly affirm and sincerely state as follows:
I am the Petitioner herein and as such I am well acquainted with the facts of the case.
I state that I am presently a member of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puduchery, the 2nd Respondent herein. I have also been the President of Madras High Court Advocates Association for about 10 years. I have all along spent much of my time and effort towards the betterment and advancement of the Advocate fraternity and the Advocate fraternity had in turn reposed considerable faith on me that I shall be addressing their needs at the appropriate times.
I state that the Indian nation and the world nations are presently faced with a very challenging and grim situation owing to the Covid-19 virus. Almost all the nations across the world have implemented ‘Lockdown’ in order to contain the spread of virus. Owing to severity of the dangers of spread of the virus the Government of India has announced and implemented a ‘Lockdown’ from 25.03.2020 to 15.04.2020 for a period of 21 days. Even prior to the announcement of lockdown the Government of India as well as the Government of Tamil Nadu had been issuing advisories to the public and authorities to implement ‘social distancing’ and such other measures to counter the spread of Covid-19. It is common knowledge that since the beginning of March, 2020 the entire world had been shaken by the huge adverse effects of the Covid-19 and this has caused considerable financial loss to businesses and individuals.
I state that the various Governments of the world nations have announced lockdown despite the imminent impact on all their economies which are likely to be very adversely affected by such a lockdown. The safety of and welfare of the lives of citizens completely outweighed all kinds of economic impact to nations and businesses around the world. India was already reeling under economic recession and the present lockdown is likely to put almost all the businesses into distress. The general public are likely to be drastically affected and the Central Government, State Governments and Reserve Bank of India had been announcing various measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
I state that whereas the salaried class of people are slightly better placed, the people belonging to the unorganized sector are the most adversely affected. It is found that the respective trade arms/ associations of unorganized sectors are doing the best to address the concerns of their respective sector of people.
I submit that the Advocate Fraternity is one of the unorganized sectors of the society. The Advocate fraternity forms an important part of the judicial process, being also known as Officers of Court, and the Advocates provide considerable valuable input in the justice delivery system and also contribute a lot in the mitigation of sufferings of the litigant public and other victims.
I submit that being considered as one of the noble professions, the Advocate fraternity comprises of a mix of individuals having income range from very low to quite adequate. Unlike the salaried employment, Advocates have to toil for several years with very low income in order to sustain in the profession. It is only after putting in considerable years of practice do the Advocates get some grip in the profession as also adequate income to sustain themselves and their families. Many young advocates depend on some kind of partial financial support from their families in order to move ahead in profession. The Advocates’ fraternity also comprises several Advocates with poor financial background. They sustain themselves with the meager income that they get as they keep working. Senior Advocates also pay their juniors only as and when income flows in through constant flow of work.
I submit that in a period of lockdown the entire work is paralyzed and there is practically nil income for both seniors and juniors. Seniors are also not in a position to take care of their junior advocates’ financial needs during these times. Most of the Advocates hardly have any savings to enable them to tide over the crisis period. The only option available to very poor and indigent advocates is to seek for hand loans from friends or relatives. They are lucky if they are able to get loans. Life becomes hell for others who are not able to get money from any source. Their very existence is at stake. It is all the more difficult to imagine the plight of their families who depend on their meager income.
I submit that the Advocates Act, 1961 has laid down an important condition that an Advocate should not have any other occupation. Hence, most of the time the Advocates have to depend only upon the income from the profession although they may be capable of earning income from other means if permitted. The Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of TN & Puduchery, the 1st and 2nd Respondents herein, ensure that Advocates abide by the rules that are laid down to ensure that the Advocates are devoted to their profession, thereby expressly barring income through other parallel occupations. This is to ensure better quality of profession leading to better justice delivery system to the nation which is supposed to benefit the entire nation.
I submit that the Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of TN & Puduchery, the 1st and 2nd Respondents herein, are endowed with an important responsibility to regulate the professional conduct of Advocates. At the same time the 1st and 2nd Respondents are also endowed with a responsibility to ensure the welfare of the Advocates. Section 6 of the Advocates Act, 1961 deals with “Functions of the State Bar Councils”. Sections 6(2) and 6(3) of the Advocates Act, 1961 state as follows:-
“(2) A State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of —
(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other advocates;
(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;
(c) establishing law libraries.
(3) A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.”
Similar provisions exist under sections 7(2) and 7(3) of the Advocates Act, 1961 under the caption “Functions of the Bar Council of India”.
I submit that as a representative of the Advocate fraternity I am presently noticing that several Advocates from poor background have been exposed to severe and miserable financial conditions owing to the present ‘Lockdown’ owing to Covid-19. Several advocates are facing severe income crunch, having nowhere to go, and they are found to be in a miserable condition especially when they have dependants to take care of. Some of the advocates are borrowing from their friends or relatives whereas some other advocates who are already indebted or heavily financially strained, find the present circumstances to be completely unmanageable.
I submit that although the Lockdown is slated to end on 15.04.2020 there is a possibility of the Lockdown being extended, either in the same form or in a modified form, for some more weeks. From the national and global scenario it has become obvious that normalcy cannot be restored within a short time. Those Advocates who are already deprived of income owing to present Lockdown will find it almost impossible to sustain the few extra weeks unless the government or some other authority pitches in with the necessary financial support.
I submit that the 1st and 2nd Respondents are endowed with not only the responsibility but also the authority to provide a helping hand to those Advocates who are in dire need during these challenging times.
I submit that I have reliably learnt that the 2nd Respondent presently has a General Fund of about Rs. 10 crores at its disposal and I consider that a part of the available fund could be immediately used to address the immediate concerns of the financially struggling Advocate fraternity.
I submit that though the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the 2nd Respondent herein, has a Welfare Fund under the Tamil Nadu Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1987 the same cannot be utilized for any other purpose other than to provide for death benefits of Advocates. Whereas, from and out of the General Fund other activities of the 2nd Respondent like Administrative Costs, Meeting Costs, Legal Education Expenses are being met out. Under the present extraordinary situation the amount available under the General Fund can be utilized. At present, the 2nd Respondent incurs an expenditure of about Rs. 1 crore per annum towards the usual previously designated expenses. Hence, there is surplus fund available under the General Fund of the 2nd Respondent and the same can be put to use to provide immediate relief to the indigent Advocates. It is pertinent to state that a large part of the amount disbursed towards relief is likely to be replenished from contributions and donations from Government and other well placed members of the Advocate Fraternity which may be collected over a period of time more particularly after normalcy returns.
I submit that a separate fund may be necessitated to be created to address the situation. A fund captioned “Bar Council of Tamilnadu & Puducherry-2020 Lockdown Fund- Financial Assistance to Indigent Advocates” could be created for this purpose. The 2nd Respondent can seek support from financially well placed Advocates to contribute to the fund as per Section 6(3) of the Advocates Act, 1961. Meanwhile, to address the urgency, the amounts available with the General Fund could be utilized to immediately disburse fixed amounts as relief to deserving Advocates.
I submit that, being a senior member of the Bar, having put in several years of practice as an Advocate, I consider myself duty bound to personally help out the financially less privileged Advocates during these difficult times. I shall be contributing Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) towards the above stated fund towards providing immediate relief to the indigent Advocates. To my knowledge there are several other Bar Council Members and financially capable Advocates who are willing to make contribution according to their respective capacities to mitigate the suffering of fellow Advocates.
I submit that the situation warrants that an amount of Rs.10,000/- be paid to each of the indigent Advocates, who can be identified by laying down some objective criteria. The objective criteria shall lay down a set of conditions to ensure that only indigent Advocates are benefited by this emergency measure.
I submit that a High Court appointed Committee may be constituted under directions from this Hon’ble Court and it is desirable that the entire process of selection of Advocates and distribution is monitored by this Hon’ble Court. It is suggested that the Committee be comprised of Senior Advocates from the various Bar Associations from across the States of Tamil Nadu and Puduchery.
I submit that owing to the urgency involved to disburse the amounts to indigent Advocates, it is desirable that the Advocates themselves self certify that they meet the objective criteria, with a possible recommendation from the President/ Secretary of the concerned Bar Association in which he/ she is a member. The Committee that had been newly instituted or the 2nd Respondent could later check and verify if the facts provided by the Advocates are true. If found to be false the particular Advocate could be asked to return or refund the amount disbursed along with penalty failing which their names could be struck of the rolls.
I submit that one of our fellow Bar Council members Shri K.R.R.Ayyappamani had already sent a representation dated 30.03.2020 to the 2nd Respondent with copies marked to all the Bar Council members including me and as such the 2nd Respondent is seized of the matter which deserves to be considered. Owing to urgency I am relying on the same representation dated 30.03.2020 of Shri K.R.R.Ayyappamani and adopting it to file the present Writ Petition.
I submit that owing to the ‘Lockdown’ the 2nd Respondent is also not in a position to organize urgent meeting of its members to discuss and decide upon this issue. All discussions are happening only through phone or E-Mail and no formal meeting could be held. Since the 2nd Respondent is also unable to conduct formal meetings to pass resolutions, the 2nd Respondent will also be able to act only if suitable directions are issued by this Hon’ble Court to hold virtual meetings, etc. The 1st Respondent is also in a similarly placed situation and they will be able to grant no-objection or approval, if so required, only if suitable directions are issued to them by this Hon’ble Court to adopt suitable means/ modes to provide speedy approval.
I submit that the Bar Council of Kerala has taken similar measures to address the concern of the Advocates’ fraternity at Kerala and the Bar Council of India, the 1st Respondent herein, has approved the same. The Rules framed by the Bar Council of Kerala to extend relief is enclosed along with this Writ Petition as an Annexure. The Bar Councils of Delhi and Odisha have also undertaken similar relief measures with the approval of the 1st Respondent and more state Bar Councils appear to be under the process of undertaking similar relief measures to their respective Advocate fraternity. The 2nd Respondent can follow the model adopted by Bar Council of Kerala, maybe with certain required modifications, while adopting relief measures to indigent Advocates of Tamil Nadu and Puduchery.
I submit that I am filing the petition in public interest in order to address the concerns of the indigent Advocates of Tamil Nadu and Puduchery during the lockdown period. I have no personal interest in the litigation and the petition is not guided by self-gain or gain of any other institution/ body and that there is no oblique motive other than of public interest in filing this writ petition. To my knowledge no other similar petition has been filed by any other person.
I submit that I hereby undertake to pay the cost, if any, out of my own personal funds if it is to be found that this Writ Petition is intended for personal gain or motive. I have filed this petition based on information and personal knowledge. The copy of representation of Shri K.R.R.Ayyappamani was that received by me through my E-mail. The Rules framed by Bar Council of Kerala was also received by Whatsapp Messenger.
I submit that I pay income taxes according to the money earned and my IT PAN card Number is AGVPP6172D. I have also filed my returns for all taxable income earned, and as applicable under the income tax rules.
I submit that I have no other effective alternative and efficacious remedy other than to approach this Hon’ble Court, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by invoking extraordinary Original Jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus for the following among other grounds
GROUNDS
(i) That Article 21 of the Constitution of India provides for life to be led with certain amount of dignity and that the same ought to be applied in the matter of indigent Advocates who are presently suffering financially owing to ‘Lockdown’ related to Covid-19.
(ii) That the 1st and 2nd Respondents are endowed with a responsibility to address the genuine concerns of indigent Advocates who have been severely affected by the present ‘Lockdown’ owing to Covid-19.
Sections 6(2) and 6(3) of the Advocates Act, 1961 state as follows:-
“(2) A State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of —
(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other advocates;
(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;
(c) establishing law libraries.
(3) A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.”
Similar provisions exist under sections 7(2) and 7(3) of the Advocates Act, 1961 under the caption “Functions of the Bar Council of India”.
(iii) That when the 1st and 2nd Respondents regulate the Advocates’ profession by laying down conditions restraining any other involvement of Advocates in other occupations, part-time or full time, and especially when the 1st and 2nd Respondents are endowed with responsibility to address the concerns of the indigent Advocates, then it would only proper and appropriate for the 1st and 2nd Respondent to make use of all available resources within its means and possibility in order to address the immediate financial requirements of the indigent Advocates.
(iv) That the 1st Respondent has already approved similar such relief measures for the State Bar Councils of Kerala, Delhi and Odisha.
(v) I pray that leave may be granted to raise additional grounds at the time of arguments.
I state that this is the first writ petition and I have not filed any other petition for the similar of same relief.
Under the circumstances, it is humbly prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to pass an interim direction to the Respondents permitting the 2nd Respondent to form a fund under the caption “Bar Council of Tamilnadu & Puducherry-2020 Lockdown Fund- Financial Assistance to Indigent Advocates” in order to disburse relief amount to indigent Advocates identified and approved by a Committee to be constituted and monitored by this Hon’ble Court, pending disposal of the Writ Petition and thus render justice.
Under the circumstances it is humbly prayed that this Hon’ble Court may graciously be pleased to issue a WRIT OF MANDAMUS or any other appropriate Writ, or order, or direction, in the nature of a Writ, to direct the 1st and 2nd Respondents to consider the representation dated 30.03.2020 and thereby through the duly appointed Committee provide emergency relief of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousands only) to each of the identified indigent Advocate from the General Fund available with the 2nd Respondent through the new fund under the caption of “Bar Council of Tamilnadu & Puducherry-2020 Lockdown Fund- Financial Assistance to Indigent Advocates”, within a time frame fixed by this Hon’ble Court and pass such further or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case and thus render justice.
Solemnly affirmed at Chennai this the 6th day of April, 2020 having signed his name in my presence. Before me,
Advocate, ChennaiIN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
W.P. No. of 2020
R.C.PAUL KANAGARAJ
…Petitioner
-Vs-
Bar Council of India
Rep. by its Secretary
And 2 others
…Respondents
AFFIDAVIT OF THE PETITIONER
R.C.PAUL KANAGARAJ
Petitioner/ Party in Person
(Ph.:- 98400 75747)
