Chennai: A lawyer practising for over seven years down south was found to be a ‘history sheeter rowdy’ by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTP), which has removed his name from its rolls and banned him from future practice. “We have taken the decision based on the recommendation of our enrolment committee which had gone into the allegations against this lawyer, S. R. Balasubramanian, practicing in Dindigul.
I have communicated this to him and will soon be informing all the bar associations and courts,” said Mr Dakshinamoorthy, secretary, BCTP, reflecting the Council’s resolve to cleanse the legal profession in the state and restore its past glory. In recent months, the council has suspended over 40 advocates for alleged misconduct in incidents.
In the present instance, the enrolment committee off the BCTP has found substance in complaints it received regarding the conduct of Mr Balasubramanian, who was involved in 10 criminal cases registered by the Natham police station in Dindigul district since 1999. Also, he had been detained under the Goondas Act. He suppressed all this information while enrolling as lawyer in November 2008. Had he disclosed the truth about his criminal cases and Goondas detention to the Bar Council, the Council would not have enrolled him as an advocate, the BCTP said.
It also said Balasubramanian continued to figure on the list of history sheeters in the Natham police station and he took no steps to have the relevant police order revoked. It may be recalled that Justice N Kirubakaran had passed an order holding that the BCTP, which enrolled the candidates as lawyers also has the incidental auxiliary and implied powers to suspend and cancel the enrolment in case of violations or misconduct of any member.
