Want to Be an Advocate? RMP Must Cancel Registration
The Kerala High Court has ruled that a Registered Medical Practitioner cannot be enrolled as an advocate unless the practitioner first surrenders and cancels the medical registration held under the relevant medical laws.
The judgment was delivered in T.M. Manju v. Bar Council of Kerala, where the Court considered whether a person registered as a Homoeopathic medical practitioner could simultaneously seek enrolment as an advocate while retaining medical registration.
The Court observed that a Registered Medical Practitioner continues to possess the legal right to practise medicine as long as the name remains on the statutory medical register. Therefore, merely stopping medical practice or closing a clinic does not amount to relinquishing the medical profession.
Upholding the stand of the Bar Council of Kerala, the Court held that enrolment as an advocate requires exclusive professional commitment. A person who continues as a Registered Medical Practitioner cannot claim eligibility for enrolment in the legal profession without formally cancelling medical registration.
The Bench further noted that regulatory frameworks governing both the medical and legal professions do not permit simultaneous entitlement to practise both professions. Accordingly, the Bar Council was justified in insisting on a cancellation certificate from the medical council before processing the enrolment application.
The ruling clarifies that any Registered Medical Practitioner wishing to join the Bar must first surrender the statutory right to practise medicine and obtain cancellation of medical registration before seeking enrolment as an advocate.
