The second point raised is that while we have given in clause (1) of article 15-A a right to an accused person to consult a legal practitioner of his choice, we have made no provision for permitting him to conduct his defence by a legal practitioner. In other words, a distinction is made between the right to consult and the right to be defended. Personally I thought that the words “to consult” included also the right to be defended because consultation would be utterly purposeless if it was not for the purpose of defence. However, in order to remove any ambiguity or any argument that may be raised that consultation is used in a limited sense, I am prepared to add after the words “to consult” the words “and be defended by a legal practitioner”, so that there would be both the right to consult and also the right to be defended. A question has been raised by the last speaker as to the meaning of the words “legal practitioner of his choice”. No doubt the words “of his choice” are important and they have been deliberately used, because we do not want the Government of the day to foist upon an accused person a counsel whom the Government may think fit to appear in his case because the accused person may not have confidence in him. Therefore we have used the words “of his choice”. But the words “of his choice” are qualified by the words “legal practitioner”. By the phrase “legal practitioner” is meant what we usually understand, namely, a practitioner who by the rules of the High Court or of the Court concerned, is entitled to practise.
