Pune Bar Association to get biometric cards to vet fake lawyers

After a spurt in cases of fake lawyers in Pune, the Pune Bar Association (PBA) is planning to introduce biometric card system to keep tabs on “bogus” lawyers in the district court.

PBA secretary Amol Kajale-Patil said, “The biometric cards will contain information like name of the lawyer, sanad (licence to practice) number and the finger impression. This information can be accessed by court officials and PBA once the card is inserted into card readers."

He also said the usage and other nitty-gritty of the plan would be discussed in the general body meeting of the PBA, scheduled next week. “We hope our members would help us to come up with a fool-proof system," he said.

Also, the PBA has requested the state bar council to provide an updated list of practising lawyers every six months, to help the PBA and court officials update their information.

The first case of a bogus lawyer came to light when 38-year-old Mahendra Vishwanath Kawchale was arrested by the Shivajinagar police on April 27 for practising as lawyer without a sanad. He was pleading the sensational case of BPO employee Jyotikumari Choudhary’s gang-rape and murder, opposite special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam.

The PBA president, Dhananjay Taur said, “It is very serious if a fake lawyer pleads the case on behalf of a client who does not know the credentials of the lawyer. We are coordinating with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa to ferret out fake lawyers.”

“Through the multi-purpose biometric cards, it will be easy to verify the credentials of any lawyer registered with the state bar council,’’ he added.

Former PBA president Milind Pawar said, “Biometric card system is a good initiative and all practising lawyers in the district should support it. The system will also be implemented in other district courts in the state."

Recently, the PBA had launched a drive to identify suspects indulging in practising without a sanad. So far five suspects — including two at the district and sessions court, one at the debt recovery tribunal and two at the district collectorate — have been arrested.