New Delhi: A three-member expert committee, constituted by the Bar Council of India to decide whether law makers can be lawyers, has decided to issue notices to more than 500 lawyers who are MPs, MLAs and MLCs.
Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, the Chairman of the bar council, told News18: "The decision to issue notices was taken so that if the BCI cancels their enrolments, they cannot claim that principle of natural justice was violated".
Advocate Debi Prasad Dhal, co chairman of BCI and member of the expert committee, told News18 that the ground raised by "Upadhyay citing Rule 49 of BCI was being deliberated upon and notice was issued to follow due process".
The notice will appear by tomorrow in newspapers and within a week they have to furnish their replies. The final hearing will take place on January 22.
Some of the names that are under the radar include: Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, KTS Tulsi, P Chidambaram, Vivek Tankha, K Parasaran, Bhupendra Yadav, Meenakshi Lekhi, Pinaki Mishra, Satish Mishra and Ashwini Kumar.
The committee had earlier delayed its report on disqualification of practising lawyers who also function as MPs and MLAs after the applicant raised the 'serious conflict of interest' problem.
BJP leader and Supreme Court advocate, Ashwini Upadhyay, who had filed a plea to debar lawyers, said there is a clear conflict of interest as MPs and MLA have powers to "impeach judges".
"The MPs who have the power of impeachment and can impeach a judge of the Supreme Court where they appear day in and day out; it could be possible that the judges concerned may not be able to discharge their duty without fear. Judges are mostly men of great wisdom and are fearless. However, public may sometime perceive that judges give favorable orders to few lawyers... As it is said that Caesar's wife should be above suspicion!" read the additional statement filed by Upadhyay.
"The report could not be tabled today as an additional statement was filed. We are looking at the report being tabled by next Wednesday," BCI Chairman had told News18.
The panel, which is considering the application, comprises top lawyers in the Bar Council of India and office bearers — Bhoj Chander Thakur, Rameshchandra G Shah and DP Dhal.
In his application, Ashwini Upadhyay had contended that MPs and MLAs were paid their salaries out of the Consolidated Fund of India and were thus the employee of the state.
"The legislators get salaries from the government funds to perform public duty...The Parliamentarians take oath under Schedule III of the Constitution which binds them to serve their nation and when they take oath, which means that they have no issues with the salary. The oath taken by the legislators brings them to high offices, wherein they play important roles and responsibilities such as legislative, deliberative and developmental. So, why do they need to have parallel profession like litigation?" said Upadhyay.
The application stated that “many MPs, MLAs appear as an advocate even during Parliament/Legislative Assembly session and participate in matters that affect the financial interests of the country and with a person with whom they have a prospective employment”.
Upadhyay said that a legislator plays important role in development of his state and cannot be 'sailing in two boats at the same time'.
"India needs dedicated and full time MPs and MLAs and not part-time legislators. We cannot have Parliamentarians who are sailing in two boats at the same time. It is impossible for a person to look after the nation on one hand and to cater the needs of its client on the other hand, simultaneously.
He claimed that appearing as an advocate does not augur well with their Constitutional mandate and hence they must be barred from practising while also serving as public representatives.
"As in the case of MPs/practising lawyers challenging the wisdom of the legislature in court while arguing the veracity of a particular legislation, the constitutional check and balances go astray as the very same arguing counsel are drawing salaries from the public funds as MPs," said Upadhyay.
On December 21, the Bar Council of India had constituted an expert committee to look into an application which seeks to debar MPs and MLAs from practising as lawyers on the grounds that it is “against the spirit of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India.”
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