Supreme Court stays RK Chandramohan suspension order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Madras High Court order suspending advocate RK Chandramohan from the chairmanship of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Chandramohan allegedly had influenced a judge of Madras High Court taking the name of then telecom minister A Raja.

A bench comprising justice DK Jain and Justice HL Dattu in its interim order also stayed the high court’s order which had asked the Bar Council of India to initiate the disciplinary proceedings against the lawyer.

The matter has been postponed for further hearing in the first week of January, 2011. The high court on December 7 had suspended Chandramohan from the bar for allegedly being involved in an attempt to influence Justice S Reghupati of the high court.

A division bench comprising Justice FM Ibrahim Khalifulla and Justice MMSundaresh had said the status of Chandramohan shall stand suspended forthwith. He should not be permitted to function as such pending disciplinary action by the Bar Council of India, the bench had said.

The high court order was challenged by advocate Chandramohan in the apex court. Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi on behalf of petitioner, contended that the order of the high court was illegal except that a complaint can be filed against the advocate.

Rohatgi said, the high court does not have the power to direct the suspension of the membership of an advocate, which is granted under a statute. The apex court while staying high court, observed. “at the best, it could be a case of contempt”.

The high court had appended a portion of a letter written by Justice Reghupati saying Chandramohan had pleaded for anticipatory bail in a case case involving a father and a son, accused in a marks scandal case in Puducherry, stating that they were “family friends” of Raja. The lawyer handed over his mobile phone to the judge, Justice Reghupati wrote, saying that the “union minister is on the line to have a talk with me”.