Law: Legal Practitioners Act, 1879

Section:

Legal Practitioners Act (XVIII of 1879)----S. 36, Explanation Bar Association's meeting mot "specially convened"-Names of persons whose conduct as touts was proposed to be considered at meeting not disclosed in notice circulated for meetingResolution held, suffered from technical defects-Ineffective as proof of "general repute"-[Mien Muhammad Hussain and others v. The Bar Association, Gujrat P L D 1951 Lah. 38 and Abdul Aziz v. The Karachi Bar Association P L D 1955 Sind 3 ref. ]. Dates of hearing : 25th and 26th September 1961.   JUDGMENT   These are five petitions by 14 persons against the order of the District Magistrate, Peshawar, whereby they have been declared as "touts", under section 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act). As all these petitions involve common questions of law and fact, they are being disposed of by one order.   2. The impugned order of the. District Magistrate is mainly based on the presumption of "general repute" arising out of a resolution passed by the District Bar Association at a meeting held on 6th, September 1960. It is conceded that if this pre sumption of "general repute" is eliminated from consideration, there will be left no evidence to justify the order. The Explanation to subsection (1) of section 36 of the Act says :-   "The passing of a resolution declaring any person to be or not to be a tout, by a majority of the members present at a meeting, specially convened for the purpose, of an association of persons entitled to, practise as legal practitioners in any Court or revenue-office, shall be evidence of the general repute of such person for the purposes of this subsection".   It will have been noticed that, in the first place, the meeting referred to in the Explanation must be a "special meeting" as distinct from a general meeting, and it must be for the purpose of considering the question of "toutism". Secondly, it is clear by implication from the language of the Explanation that the Members of the Association must have a notice of the names of the persons whose conduct is to be…