Shivani Gadhavi
Published On: February 19, 2022 at 14:22 IST
The Bombay High Court on February 18, 2022 ordered the Registry of the Court to inform the Ministry of Law and Justice of the Central Government about a report prepared by a group of lawyers pertaining to reforms that are much needed in the Notaries Act, 1952.
The Bombay High Court Bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and M N Jadhav was perusing a Report submitted by Advocate Akash Agarwal and Amicus Curiae Nausher Kohli regarding the condition of Notaries and the two also apprised the Bench about changes that can be made in the Draft Notaries Amendment Bill, 2021.
The Bombay High Court Bench was apprised about the situation of Notaries and how the Notaries operate by working from sitting inside vehicles parked in the parking lot of the Court, the Bench stated pertaining to this situation that, “extent the legal profession has degraded causing anguish not only to the judiciary but also lowering the dignity of the profession in the eyes of general public/common man.”
The aforementioned Report mentioned various recommendations by the Lawyers, that could support better functioning of the Notaries. The Report proposed that there should be implementation of practices under the Remote Online Notarization and a proper model for code of conduct.
The Bench was also informed about the current situation of lawyers who are practicing through sitting in private vehicles due to loss of offices because of the pandemic. In this regard the Bench stated that, “In any event, though we have full sympathy for the advocates, who do not have their offices of their own to function from, we do believe that the dignity of the profession needs to be maintained and the legal profession cannot be allowed to function from the streets.”