In a significant ruling, the Madras High Court has come to the aid of the Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris, which had been denied recognition by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The division bench of Justice M.S. Ramesh and Justice V. Lakshminarayanan quashed the Bar Council’s resolution and directed it to reconsider the association’s application strictly on statutory grounds.
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Case Background
The petitioner, represented by senior advocate T. Murugamanickam, argued that the Nilgiris-based association of women advocates was lawfully registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. Despite this, their application for recognition under Section 13 of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987 was rejected by the Bar Council through Resolution No.664/2023.
The rejection was based on an inspection in which the Bar Council noted that most women advocates preferred to remain with the Nilgiris District Bar Association. The Council also relied on an internal policy of recognizing only one association per court centre. Counsel for the Bar Council and the Nilgiris District Bar Association defended this stance, questioning the numbers claimed by the petitioner and alleging internal disputes among women advocates.
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The bench minced no words in criticizing the Bar Council's approach.
"The Bar Council has exceeded their authority while exercising their powers,"
Justice Ramesh observed, pointing out that the Welfare Fund Rules clearly allow recognition of more than one bar association in a court centre, provided reasons are recorded.
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The Judges reminded that the law does not prescribe any minimum number of members to form a lawyers association. The court also disapproved of the Bar Council seeking the opinion of the existing Nilgiris Bar Association, stressing that rival groups have no statutory role in such decisions.
Referring to a precedent from 2015, the court noted:
"Strictly speaking, the Act does not contemplate the situation where the Bar Council is obliged to take into account the views of other recognized associations operating in that area."
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Allowing the writ petition, the High Court set aside the Bar Council’s resolution dated 18.10.2023. The Judges directed the Bar Council to reconsider the Nilgiris Women Lawyers Association’s application within 15 days, restricting its inquiry only to statutory requirements: whether the association has proper by-laws, details of office-bearers, updated member list, and their places of practice.
If these conditions are satisfied, the court made it clear that recognition "shall forthwith be granted."
Case Title: Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris vs. The Secretary, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry & Ors.
Case Number: W.P. No. 6176 of 2025
