Initiate disciplinary action against advocate: HC to Bar Council

Madurai: An advocate is an officer of the court and any misconduct cannot be tolerated by the court, Madras high court observed while taking a serious view over the fact that an advocate from Kanyakumari district was indulging in arm-twisting activities by giving false complaints against others and collecting money under the guise of a compromise. Stating that the court cannot be a mute spectator, justice N Anand Venkatesh directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the advocate for professional misconduct. The court was hearing a petition filed by five people - Sudhagar, Nagarajan, Kannan, Sundar alias Sundaralingam and Muthuswamy seeking to quash the proceedings pending against them before the III additional district court in Tirunelveli.The facts of the case is that, Gobala Krishnan, an advocate practising before the Nagercoil district court, gave a police complaint in 2013 stating that petitioners abused and threatened him. Based on the complaint, the FIR was registered by the Asaripallam police against the petitioners. After the investigation was completed, a final report was filed and the same was taken cognizance by the trial court.The judge observed that this is a classic case of how an advocate can misuse his status and arm-twist others and make a living out of it. Advocate Krishnan was virtually attempting to convert a civil dispute and give it a criminal colour. This court wanted to see if Krishnan had adopted the same modus operandi with others. To the shock of this court, it is seen that he regularly indulges in such disputes and ultimately, takes money and compromises the dispute. On one occasion, even a complaint was given against him before the Nagercoil Bar Association to the effect that he is misusing his status as an advocate and he is arm-twisting others and taking money.All the materials placed before this court shows that Krishnan never practices in court and he is involved in activities which demeans the status of an advocate and he regularly blackmails others and demands money. That seems to be a regular source of income for him. In fact, he does not even spare the advocates practising in courts and that is the reason why this case which was originally pending before the court in Nagercoil was subsequently transferred to the file of the additional district court in Tirunelveli. Unfortunately, the police keep registering one FIR after another whenever he gives a complaint since they do not want to rub him in the wrong way and land in trouble, the judge observed.The attitude of Krishnan can no longer be permitted to continue. The proceedings in hand is a clear case of abuse of process of law by a person claiming himself to be a practising advocate. Hence, the judge allowed the petition and quashed the trial court proceedings in its entirety.