Udupi: Hegde Concerned Over Decline in Standard in all Professions

Pics: Hemanath Padubidri
The Hindu

Udupi, Nov 11: Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde has expressed concern over the deterioration of standards in all professions in the country. He was delivering the valedictory address at a workshop on advocacy skills for advocates organised by the Karnataka State Bar Council in association with the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and the Udupi District Bar Association, here on Monday.

Hegde said that some decades ago, the legal profession was considered the “noblest profession. But there was deterioration not only in the legal profession, but also in other professions. This was because of the decline in the calibre of the rulers of the country. “When governance fails, everything else fails,” he said.

Hegde said that the Bar associations and Bar councils should not support advocates who had broken the law. It was incumbent upon them to uphold high ideals. “Advocates should put their profession ahead of themselves and the society ahead of their profession,” he said.

Hegde said that there was rampant corruption in the bureaucracy. So too there were serious charges against the legal profession. “Malpractice in legal profession should be faced head on,” he said.

Stating that lawyers should realise education was a continuous process, he said that many new subjects such as cyber laws and intellectual property rights had emerged. Instead of thinking that they know all the subjects, both judges and advocates should make honest efforts to learn them. “There is no such thing as a complete education,” Hegde said.

District and Sessions Judge K N Phaneendra, president of District Bar Association Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, secretary Dinesh Naik, advocates Narayan Poojary, Purshotham Poojary, Sitaram Shetty, P P Hegde, were present.