Notice ordered on plea challenging party-in-person rules

The first bench comprising Chief Justice A P Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad before whom the plea moved by Advocate V B R Menon came up on Monday while ordering notice to the Registrar General, MHC, also roped in the Madras Bar Association (MBA) as a respondent in the case. The plea has been posted for further hearing to March 9.

Menon in his plea submitted that in the recently notified the High Court of Madras (Conduct of Proceedings by Party-in-Person) Rules, 2019 no distinction has been made in the said rules regards practicing Advocates and Non-advocates for appearing as Party-in-Person before this Court.

He further stated that the objective of framing the Party-in-Person Rules, 2019 and prescribing an elaborate procedure was to assess the suitability and competence of the Party-in-Person to conduct the proceedings and to assist this Court to achieve smooth and proper adjudication of cases.

But applying the same set of Rules in the case of a practicing Advocate who wishes to appear as a Party-in-Person shall be meaningless and unreasonable since as per Sec 2 (a) of the Advocates Act, 1961, an Advocate means an Advocate entered in any roll under the provisions of the Act. Hence, an Advocate does not cease to be an Advocate while appearing as Party-in-Person, as he is still required to maintain the standards of professional conduct and etiquette as prescribed under the Act, he said. “When the Advocates Act, 1961, has accepted the capability, character and competence of an Advocate to practice law before this Court for other parties, it shall be totally unreasonable and meaningless to prescribe that he shall establish his competence and credentials before the Party-in-Person Committee to conduct those cases where he wishes to appear as Party-in-Person,” Menon added.

Also, citing a Supreme Court direction and a subsequent GO, which exempted Advocates who appear as Party-in-Persons from the above provision, said, “It shall be preposterous to assume that an Advocate may lose his advocacy, skills and competence while he appears as Party-in-Person before this Court and that he need to undergo the procedure prescribed under the Party-in-Person Rules, 2019.” The MHC in a bid to regulate the practice and procedure for conduct of proceedings by party-in-person had framed rules wherein the said person has to appear before party-in-person committee and obtain their consent regards their competency to appear.