Power Of Attorney Holder Cannot Represent A Party In Court Without Obtaining Its Permission: Kerala High Court Reaffirms
The Kerala High Court has held that a private person cannot appear on behalf of another on the basis of a power of attorney, without prior permission of the Court. The Court observed that only enrolled advocates can appear on behalf of another party without permission. For a private person to do so, he has to get the permission of the Court under Section 32 of the Advocates Act, even if he is...
The Kerala High Court has held that a private person cannot appear on behalf of another on the basis of a power of attorney, without prior permission of the Court.
The Court observed that only enrolled advocates can appear on behalf of another party without permission. For a private person to do so, he has to get the permission of the Court under Section 32 of the Advocates Act, even if he is the power of attorney holder of the party.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas referred to the Supreme Court decision in T. C. Mathai and Another v District and Sessions Judge Thiruvananthapuram (1999) where it was observed that "that permission must be obtained by the parties from the court and there is no independent right for a power of attorney holder to appear for parties before any court"
Justice Thomas further refer to Supreme Court's decision in Harishankar Rastogi v. Girdhari Sharma and Another referred to in T.C Mathai's case where it was observed that a party who is a private person and who is not an advocate must get prior permission of the Court and such a motion must come from the party himself.
The high court thereafter said, "No private person is entitled to appear on behalf of another party, a right vested only with licensed Advocate. There is a distinction between the right to appear on behalf of someone, which is given to only enrolled Advocates, and the discretion of the Court to permit a non-advocate to appear before it. Under S.29 and S.33 of the Act, the persons who have a right to appear and argue before the court are those who are enrolled as advocates while under S.32 of the (Advocates) Act, a power is vested in the court to permit, in a particular case, a person other than an advocate to appear before it and argue the case. A power of attorney holder cannot appear in Court on behalf of another, unless permitted by the Court under S.32 of the Act".
The High Court said that the power of attorney must make an application to get prior permission of the Court to appear on behalf of the party. The application must state the reason for such a requirement, the relationship between the parties, the bonafides of the cause requiring such appearance by the power of attorney holder, the details of any other case in which the power of attorney holder has appeared on behalf of others and other relevant details which will help the court in taking a decision.
In the instant case, a writ was filed as 'party in person'. A private person who claimed to be the power of attorney holder of the petitioner asserted his right to appear on behalf of the petitioner on the strength of the power of attorney. The registry noted this as defect.
The Court held that the power of attorney holder does not have any automatic power to represent the party before the court. In the instant case, noting that the power of attorney holder has not provided any details or materials by which the court can consider if permission should be granted to him to represent the party, the Court dismissed the plea.
Case Title: Abdul Wahid T. K. v Habeebullah PT & Others
Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 161