Express news service

CHENNAI: Six lawyers, allegedly involved in different criminal activities, have been banned from practicing in courts and tribunals until the ongoing disciplinary proceedings against them are resolved. Two of them face murder charges while another is convicted in a child sexual abuse case. The Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Bar Council made the decision after receiving reports on the cases filed against them.

“They are prohibited from practicing as attorneys in all courts, tribunals and other authorities in India, in their own name or under an assumed name until the end of the ongoing disciplinary proceedings against them.” , the bar said on Thursday.

Y Vigneshwarraj from Kadapakkam, Cheyyur, was banned for his involvement in the murder of a person in connection with a money transaction. He was arrested by Chunambedu police in Kancheepuram under IPC section 302 (murder), and the SC / ST law was also invoked.

Another lawyer, G Krishnakumar of T Nagar in Chennai, is also convicted of murder by police in Krishnagiri town. He was involved in the kidnapping and murder of a listener, Janaranjan Pradhan, sources said.
Likewise, Tiruppur-based lawyer K Rajendran of Tiruchy Main Road, Vellakovil, was arrested for filing false court fee stamp papers for traffic accident cases. MG Ashok of Coimbatore, was banned from practicing after a child sexual assault case was registered against him at AWPS in Madipakkam, Chennai.

A former special prosecutor among those charged

The ax also fell on P Seetharaman, a former Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), who had served in the Court for the Essentials and Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act in Madurai District. According to the Bar Council, he amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and engaged in usury money lending activities during his tenure.

The bar brought action against him following a complaint from the state’s interior minister. He deprived the sixth lawyer, Mr. Gopinath de Luz, Mylapore in Chennai, of the right to practice until the end of the disciplinary proceedings, for having obtained a law degree even though he was working as a conductor with of the state transport company. He is still employed by the Metro Transport Corporation in Mandaveli, sources said. The Bar Council passed resolutions to ban the six lawyers at its October 8 meeting.