It is high time for the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) to engage the services of competent researchers for collecting empirical data regarding the number of advocates facing criminal cases, the Madras High Court has said. Justice D. Bharata Chakravarty, holding the criminal cases quash portfolio, made the observation after coming across 30 to 40 criminal cases involving practicing advocates on almost every working day. The judge expressed concern over the alarming number of such cases faced by lawyers. Later, passing a detailed order on the issue, the judge wrote: “This court has noticed an increasing trend of such cases... He granted time till August 24, 2026 for the BCI and BCTNP to make their submissions before the court.