MPs, MLAs, MLCs can continue to practise as advocates: SC
New Delhi, Sep 25: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that lawyers-turned-lawmakers, both in Parliament and the state legislatures cannot be barred from practising before the courts during their term as lawmakers.
"To sum up, we hold that the provisions of the Advocates Act of 1961 and the Bar Council of India Rules framed thereunder do not place any restrictions on the legislators to practise as advocates during the relevant period," said the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in their judgment.
The court said this while addressing a limited question whether legislators can be debarred from practising as advocates during the period when they continue to be the members of Parliament or a state Assembly/Council.
The top court judgment refusing to restrict lawmakers from practising as advocates before the courts has come as boost to senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, P. Chidambaram, K.T.S. Tulsi, Pinaki Misra, Meenakshi Lekhi and K. Parasaran, who are among the parliamentarians practising as advocates.
While rejecting the plea to bar the lawyer-cum-lawmakers from practising law before the courts, the top court also said that the conferment of power on the members of Parliament to move an impeachment motion against the judge(s) of the constitutional courts does not per se result in conflict of interest or a case of impacting constitutional morality or for that matter institutional integrity.
The court's verdict came on a plea filed by advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, contending that MPs/MLAs practising as advocates pose a conflict of interest under the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, and the Bar Council of India Rules.
The plea had sought a ban on legislators practising as advocates for the period that they occupy such positions as lawmakers, contending that the dual role would also amount to professional misconduct when MPs and MLAs, who get salary and other benefits from public funds, appear against the government as lawyers.
The court said that merely because the advocate concerned is an elected people's representative, it does not follow that he/she has indulged in professional misconduct.
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Govt to set up Bureau of Port Security to boost port, vessel security
New Delhi (PTI): To beef up the security infrastructure of ports, the government will set up a statutory body -- the Bureau of Port Security -- that will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information of ports and vessels, officials said on Friday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday convened a meeting for the constitution of the dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), which was attended by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, an official statement said.
Emphasising that there is a need to establish a country-wide robust port security framework, Shah directed that security measures should be implemented in a graded and risk-based manner, taking into account vulnerabilities, trade potential, location, and other relevant parameters.
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The meeting also noted that lessons learned from the maritime security framework shall be replicated in the aviation security domain, the statement said.
The new body, modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), will be constituted as a statutory body under the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and will work under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), it said.
Headed by a senior IPS officer as its director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities.
"During the transition period of one year, the director general of shipping shall function as the director general of BoPS," the statement said.
"The BoPS will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cybersecurity, including a dedicated division to safeguard port IT infrastructure from digital threats," it said.
The government has designated the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a recognised security organisation (RSO), responsible for undertaking security assessments and preparation of security plans for port facilities.
The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will train and build the capacities of private security agencies (PSAs) engaged in port security.
"These agencies shall be certified and appropriate regulatory measures shall be introduced to ensure that only the licensed PSAs operate in this sector," the statement said.
