MOVIE tREVIEW tON tTAMIL tMOVIE t“VIRUMANDI”

- Sachindhar tA. tK t
INTRODUCTION t
Code tof tEthics t(Conduct) tfor tadvocates tdefines tthe trules tof tadvocates’ tconduct tand
tprinciples tof tadvocating tethics. tThe tprocedure tof tdisciplinary tproceeding tagainst tan
tadvocate tis tprescribed tby tthe tlaw tand tthe t“Procedure tof tInitiating tDisciplinary
tProceedings tagainst tan tAdvocate” tattached tto tthe tCode. tIn ta tsociety twhich tis tbased ton
tthe trespect ttowards tthe trule tof tlaw, tan tadvocate tundertakes ta tspecial trole. tAdvocate’s
tduties tdo tnot tmerely tstart tfrom tand tend tin tfaithful tperformance tof tassignments.
tAdvocate tis tcalled tto tserve tboth tthe tinterests tof tjustice tand tthose trights tand tprivileges
tthat tare tentrusted tto thim/her tto tdefend tthe trights tof this/her tclient. tRespect ttowards tthe
tprofessional tactivities tof tthe tadvocate tis ta tvery timportant tprerequisite tfor tthe trule tof
tlaw tand tdemocracy twithin tthe tsociety. tTherefore, tthe tadvocate’s tfunctions tput ton
thim/her tvarious tlegal tand tmoral tobligations t(sometimes tconflicting): t- tTowards tthe
tclient; t- tIn tfront tof tcourts tand tother tlaw tenforcement tbodies, twhere tadvocate tpleads
tone’s tcases tand tacts ton tbehalf tof tone’s tclients; t- tTowards tthe tadvocate tprofession tin
tgeneral tand teach tof tfellow tmembers, tin tparticular; t- tTowards tpublic, tfor twhich tthe
tpresence tof tfree tand tindependent tprofession, tcombined twith tthe trespect ttowards tthe
trules tconcerning tthat tprofession, tis tan timportant tmeans tto tprotect thuman trights tfor tthe
tbenefit tof tthe tRA tmight tand tother tinterests tof tthe tsociety.
Advocate tAct, t1961
It twas tintroduced tto timplement tthe trecommendations tof tthe tAll-India tBar tCommittee
tand ttaking tinto taccount tthe tLaw tCommission's trecommendations trelating tto tthe tlegal
tprofession. tThe tParliament thas testablished tThe tBar tCouncil tof tIndia tunder tsection t4 tof
tThe tAdvocate tAct,1961. tAs tper tsection t7(1)(b) tthe tcouncil thas tto tlay tdown tstandards
tof tprofessional tconduct tand tetiquette tfor tadvocates. tAnd tsection t49(1)(c) tallows tthe tbar
tcouncil tof tIndia tto tmake trules tas tto tsuggest tthe tstandard tof tprofessional tconduct tto tbe
tobserved tby tadvocates.

BRIEF tPLOT tOF tTHE tCASE t

The tfilm tstarts twith tAngela tKathamuthu t(Rohini) tand ther tcameraman tin tCentral tJail
tinterviewing tprisoners tserving tlife timprisonment tand tawaiting tthe tdeath tsentence. tShe
tmeets tKothala tThevar t(Pasupathy) twho tis tserving ta tlife tsentence. tHe ttells this tversion
tof tthe tstory tthat tled tto this tconviction. tAccording tto thim tthe troot tcause tof tthe tproblem
tis tVirumaandi t(Kamal tHaasan) t- tthe thappy tgo tlucky trogue. tHis tsupport tto tKothala
tThevar tin this tclash tagainst tNallama tNaicker t(Napoleon) tbrings tabout ta tbonding
tbetween tthe ttwo. tAnnalakshmi t(Abhirami), tthe tniece tof tThevar tfalls tfor tVirumaandi.
tThevar twith tan teye ton tthe tfertile tland towned tby tVirumaandi tdoes tnot tobject tto tthe
tromance. tAccording tto tThevar, tAnnalakshmi twas tabducted tby tVirumaandi tand traped. tA
tclash tbetween tVirumaandi tand tThevar ttakes tplaces tin twhich t24 tinnocent tpeople tare
tkilled. tNow tit's tVirumaandi's tturn tto ttell this tversion tof tthe tstory. tHe ttells tof thow the
tfell tin tlove twith tAnnalakshmi tand tof ther tinfluence ton thim. tShe ttaught thim tto
tapologize tand tthat tforgiveness tis ta tvirtue. tA tclash tat tthe tPanchayata tinfuriates
tAnnalakshmi tand tshe tasks tVirumaandi tto tapologize tto tthe telders twhom the tinsulted. tHe
tgoes tto tapologize tbut tThevar tand this tmen, tthinking the thas tgone tto ttake trevenge, tcome
tin tgroups tand thack tdown tinnocents tto tdeath. tThevar tuses this tclout tto tget tout tof tthe
tmurder tcharge tbut tVirumaandi twho twas tinvolved tin tthe tbloodbath tis tdisturbed tbecause
the thad tto tlie tto tsave tThevar tand this tkin. tAs tpart tof tthe tpenance the twills this tland tfor
tthe tvillagers. tAnnalakshmi tasks thim tto tmarry ther tand tleave tthe tvillage. tHe tmarries ther
tat tthe tvillage ttemple tand tgoes taway tin tthe tnight twith tthe tgirl tand tstays twith ta
trelative. tThevar's tmen tcome tand tabduct tAnnalakshmi tand tforcibly tget ther tmarried tto
tThevar's tnephew. tThis tis tto tensure tthat tAnnalakshmi's tproperty tdoes tnot tgo tto
tVirumaandi. tAnnalakshmi tcommits tsuicide. tVirumaandi ttakes trevenge tby thacking tto
tdeath tThevar's tfamily. tThevar tescapes. tNallama tNaicker tgives trefuge tto tVirumaandi tand
tsends thim toff tto tChennai. tThevar tand this tmen task tNallama tNaicker tto thand tover
tVirumaandi. tA tbattle tensues tin twhich tNallama tNaicker tis tkilled. tThe tcase tgoes tto
tcourt. tVirumaandi tturns tup tin tcourt. tHe tfinds tall tevidence tis tagainst thim. tHe tis
tconvicted tof thaving traped tAnnalakshmi tand tkilling ther tand tlater ton tkilling t26 tmen tof
tThevar twho tinquired tinto tthe trape. tAngela tKathamuthu's tcameraman tdiscreetly tshoots
tthe tdeputy tjailor tconspiring twith twardens tand tconvicts tto tbump toff tthe tchief tjailor
t(Nassar). tA trevolt tamong tthe tjail tstaff tleads tto ta tjail tbreak, tthe tjailor tbeing tstabbed
tand tVirumaandi tsaving tthe tvital tevidence tand tAngela tfrom tthe tdeputy tjailor tand this
thenchmen. tIn tthis tpaper tthe tauthor ttries tto texplain tabout tthe tadvocate twho tknows tthe
tfact tthat twho tcommitted tmurder tof this town tfather tbut tstill tdue tto tcommunal tviolence
the tacts tagainst tthe tcode tof tconduct. t
RELEVANT tPROVISIONS t
RULES tON tAN tADVOCATE’S tDUTY tTOWARDS tTHE tCOURT

4. tRefuse tto tact tin tan tillegal tmanner ttowards tthe topposition

An tadvocate tshould trefuse tto tact tin tan tillegal tor timproper tmanner ttowards tthe
topposing tcounsel tor tthe topposing tparties. tHe tshall talso tuse this tbest tefforts tto trestrain
tand tprevent this tclient tfrom tacting tin tany tillegal, timproper tmanner tor tuse tunfair
tpractices tin tany tmater ttowards tthe tjudiciary, topposing tcounsel tor tthe topposing tparties.

RULES tON tAN tADVOCATE’S tDUTY tTOWARDS tTHE tCLIENT

6. Not suppress material or evidence

An advocate appearing for the prosecution of a criminal trial should conduct the proceedings in a
manner that it does not lead to conviction of the innocent. An advocate shall by no means
suppress any material or evidence, which shall prove the innocence of the accused. The
Advocate in this movie due to grudge, he knows that the actor of the film virumandi did not
killed his father but, still due to communal grudge, he still suppressed the facts. Here we can
compare the honesty of the advocate with seven lamps of advocacy. Honesty means the quality
of straightforwardness; freedom from deceit, cheating or stealing and not telling lies. Honesty is
the most important quality that an advocate should possess. His thoughts words and deeds should
have sincere co-relation to each other with genuineness. An Advocate should be dependable
reliable to everyone who seeks his advise and services. The nobleness of legal profession lies in
honesty itself. An advocate should not do illegal practices. He should not do any act which will
lead to professional misconduct. He should disclose the real facts and legal profession to his
clients frankly. Honesty, integrity and character are inseparable. These there virtues together are
essential for the success of an advocate. The great sages of law had sucked the law from the
breasts of knowledge, honesty, gravity and integrity.

Duties of an Advocate towards his Client in India

Advocate has fiduciary relationship with his client. He has to serve the interest of his client by
protecting him in the litigation to the best of this capacity and ability in the court of law. He is
not only an agent for his client rather something more than that. Although the relationship of an
advocate with his client is of contractual nature still it involves the highest order of trust and
confidence. Although their relationship is akin to that of an agent and principal, but it is
essentially a relationship of faith and fidelity. Section 11 of the Bar Council of India Rules
provides for the duties of advocates towards his clients. According to Bar Council of India Rules
as provided hereunder following are the duties of an advocate towards his client.

Conclusion t
It tis tthe tduty tof tan tadvocate tto tuphold tthe tinterest tof ttheir tclients tfearlessly tand tin
thonorable tmeans. tHe tshould tdefend taccused tperson tof ta tcrime tirrespective tof this
tpersonal tinterest tas tto tthe tguilt tof tthe taccused. tThe tadvocate tshould talways tkeep tin
tmind tthat this tloyalty tis ttowards tthe tlaw twhich tsays tthat tno tman tmight tbe tpunished
twithout tacceptable tevidence. tIt tis tnot tpossible tfor tan tadvocate tto twithdraw tfrom
tserving ta tclient tonce the tagreed tto tserve tthem. tHe tcan twithdraw tthe tcase tif the thas
tenough treason tand tby tgiving tsufficient tnotice tto tthe tclients. tOn twithdrawal, tthe
tadvocate tshall trefund tpart tof tthe tfee tthat thas tnot tensured tto tthe tclient tAn tadvocate tis
tguaranteed tto taccept tbrief tin tthe tcourts tor ttribunals tor tbefore tother tauthority tin tor
tbefore twhich the tsuggests tto tpractice. tHe tshould tfully tand tfrankly tdisclose tto ttheir
tclients tall tthe tmatters trelating tto this tconnection twith tparties tand tany tother tinterest tin
tthe tcontroversies twhich tmay tlikely tto taffect tthe tclient’s tjudgment. tAdvocates tare tnot
tentitled tto tsuppress tmaterial tor tevidence. tThey tshould tconduct tproceedings tin tsuch ta
tmanner tthat tit tdoes tnot tlead tto tthe tconviction tof tinnocent. tHe tshall tnot tappear tin
tmatters twhere the thimself tis ta twitness. tAlso, tan tadvocate twould tnot tbe tparty tto tstirring
tup tor tprompt tlitigation. tAdvocates tare tnot tallowed tto tact ton tthe tinstructions tof tany
tpersons tother tthan this tclients tor tthe tauthorized tagent tof tthe tclient. tAn tadvocate tshould
tnot tdisclose tthe tcommunication tbetween tthe tclient tand thimself. tHe tcan tdisclose tif tit
tviolates tS126 tof tIndian tEvidence tAct, t1872. tAn tadvocate tshould tnot tagree tto treceive
tany tshare tor tany tinterests tin tan tactionable tclaim. tAn tadvocate tcannot tbid tor tpurchase
tany tproperty tarising tfrom tlegal tproceedings. tAlso, tthey tshould tnot tmisuse tor ttake tany
tadvantage tof tthe tconfidence trested ton thim tby this tclient.An tadvocate tshould tnot tlend
tmoney tto this tclients tfor tpurpose tof tany taction tor tany tlegal tproceedings tin twhich the tis
tbetrothed tby tsuch tclients. tAdvocates tshould talways tkeep taccounts tof tthe tmoney tof tthe
tclients tentrusted tto thim. tIn tthe tcase twhere tany tamount tis treceived tor tgiven tto thim ton
tbehalf tof tclients, tan tadvocate tmust twithout tany tdelay tintimate tthe tclient tof tthe tfact tof
tsuch treceipts. tAdvocates tshould tnot tappear tfor topposite tparties tin tthe tsame tmatter. tHe
tshall tadjust tfees tafter ttermination tof tproceedings. tThey tcould tmention tin taccounts
twhether tany tlevies tacknowledged tby thim tfrom tthe tclient tare ton taccount tof tfees tor
texpenses tduring tthe tcourse tof tany tproceedings tor topinions. tAn tadvocate tmust tprovide
ta tcopy tof taccounts tto tthe tclients. tShould tnot tadjust tfees tagainst tpersonal tliability.
tAlso, tan tadvocate tshould tnot tdepend ton tthe tsuccess tof tmatters. tAdvocates tshould tnot
tcharge tdepending ton tthe tsuccess tof tmatters.