July 2 that advocates cannot be allowed to use prefixes like Lt. Col. before their names in the consent of a lawyer to appear on his behalf, in the list of cases to be tried by the court and in other court documents. Chennai The High Court has ordered.
Madras High Court Judges S.M. Subramaniam and C. A bench comprising Kumarappan said that all lawyers are equal before the court, whether they are ministers, regular members of parliament, legislators or Padma awardees.
Therefore, it may not be appropriate for lawyers to use a prefix or suffix before their names in documents filed in court. The bench said that their names should appear in the pleadings and cause list as they are registered on the rolls of the concerned Bar Council.
Justice Subramaniam also pointed out that in 1995, the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court dealt with the issue of Balaji Raghavan and the Union of India. At that time, the court held that Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles and should not be used. Do not use prefixes or suffixes, otherwise the awardee will forfeit it.
Similarly, the Ministry of Defense also issued a circular clarifying that certain retired officers are not eligible to use prefixes before their names. Therefore, the Madras High Court Registry should not accept the practice of allowing advocates to add any kind of prefix before their name while filing advocacy nama.
Justice Subramaniam said that the prefixes should not be reflected in the cause lists prepared by the High Court Registry and judges and advocates should not use the prefixes. Further, “We do not discriminate on the basis of previous qualifications or positions held by advocates. Everyone is equal here,” added Justice Subramaniam.
