Date:27/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/27/stories/2007072750490200.htm

Kerala

The chemistry between the Bench and the Bar

A new dimension seems to have been added to the notion of ‘primacy of amicability between the Bench and the Bar’ — the two arms on which hinge the smooth functioning of the legal process.

The trust and understanding between the two need to be on such firm ground that S. Gopakumaran Nair, chairman of the Bar Council of India, prefers to describe the legal fraternity, comprising the Bench and the Bar, as ‘one side of the same coin& #8217; and not the often toutedn verbiage of being ‘two sides of the same coin.’

The two cannot operate parallel to each other but have to function as one whole, he says.

Mr. Gopakumaran Nair, who is the first Keralite to occupy the post of chairman of the Bar Council of India, was particularly happy that senior members of the Bench were present at Wednesday’s programme organised by the Calicut Bar Association.

He saw it as an indication of the amicability that continues to exist between the two.

Maleeha Raghaviah