Madras HC Stays Compensation Order Against Madras Bar Association

A division bench of the Madras High Court has granted an interim stay on a single judge’s order that directed the Madras Bar Association (MBA) to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh.

The order came after a lawyer was prevented from drinking water from the MBA’s office premises by another lawyer on the grounds of non-membership.

Justices SS Sundar and K Rajasekar stayed the order and stated that the matter should have been referred to a division bench. They scheduled the final hearing for July 14.

The division bench emphasized that questions regarding the vicarious liability of the MBA for the actions of its members could only be decided during the final hearing. Therefore, they stayed the single judge’s order until the appeal is heard and decided.

The initial order by Justice SM Subramaniam, issued on June 22, directed the MBA to pay compensation to Senior Advocate Elephant G Rajendran, whose son, R Neil Rashan, a junior lawyer, was allegedly denied water at the MBA’s premises by Senior Advocate late PH Pandian. Rashan was not a member of the MBA.

The single judge deemed the incident, which occurred in 2012, as despicable and considered discrimination based on social class as equivalent to ‘untouchability,’ constituting a violation of constitutional guarantees. The MBA appealed the order, leading to the stay by the division bench.