To prevent non-lawyers from misleading litigants, the Rohini Court Bar Association (RCBA) recently issued a notice reserving white shirts and black pants for advocates at the Rohini Court premises in Delhi.
“It is hereby notified that no clerk, litigant, or member of the general public is permitted to wear a white shirt and black pants during their visit to the court complex,” reads the RCBA notice issued on Tuesday.
“This attire is strictly reserved for respected lawyers/advocates as a mark of professional identity and dignity of the legal fraternity,” the notice adds.
In an earlier notice, RCBA had stated: “The Executive Committee of the Rohini Court Bar Association, through several respected members of the Bar and multiple complaints from the general public and litigants, has found that a number of touts are falsely representing themselves as official advocates or clerks of advocates. These individuals are misleading and defrauding uneducated litigants under false pretences.”
RCBA has also made it mandatory for member advocates to obtain authorised ID cards for their clerks, warning that failing to do so would invite disciplinary action.
Rajiv Tehlan, President, RCBA, said: “Many times, even miscreants and accused persons wear the clothes of lawyers… they even take up the parking space reserved for lawyers. They’re constantly duping litigants.”
“If miscreants enter the court premises and security doesn’t check them because of their attire, the reputation of all lawyers gets hampered,” he added.
Tehlan also said RCBA has changed the parking procedure by adopting Quick-Response (QR) codes. One can get the details of genuine advocates after scanning the QR codes.
“This is a revolutionary and pragmatic step in the right direction… We have instances of common litigants being defrauded by miscreants dressed in black and white,” said advocate Pravesh Dabas, who practices regularly in Rohini Court.
“In the past, we also witnessed the infamous shootout of gangster Gogi in Court premises… this could only happen as the assailants were wearing a lawyer’s uniform,” he added.
Reacting to the decisions of RCBA, Dhir Singh Kasana, former secretary of the Saket Court Bar Association in Delhi, said, “In Saket Court, there is no proper checking. This step is good for security purposes. It should happen in every court. Otherwise, thousands wearing black and white clothes enter (court premises) every day… I feel that this can curb the entry of fraudsters.”
Source: The Indian Express
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