M Ravi to stop practising law for 6 weeks while on medical leave

SINGAPORE: Lawyer M Ravi will stop practising law for six weeks while he's on medical leave, the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) stated in an announcement on Friday (Dec 3).This is a safeguard constructed into the conditional practising certificates of the human rights lawyer, who has bipolar dysfunction.Among the circumstances of his practising certificates, Mr Ravi is to stop practising law if his attending psychiatrist prescribes at the least three days of medical leave in any interval of 14 calendar days."The Council of the Law Society has received information from Mr Ravi's attending psychiatrist that he has been issued a medical certificate from Dec 2 to Jan 13, 2023, both dates inclusive," stated LawSoc.LawSoc President Gregory Vijayendran stated Mr Ravi has to stop practising law within the gentle of this prescription of prolonged medical leave.He stated it is a important safeguard within the lawyer's certificates to defend the pursuits of the general public, the authorized occupation and the administration of justice.Senior Counsel Vijayendran wished Mr Ravi "a full and speedy recuperation during his prolonged medical leave"."We also urge him to use this respite as a time for reflection," he stated.LawSoc stated final week that it was carefully monitoring issues regarding Mr Ravi, whose behaviour has made headlines in latest weeks.On Nov 22, the primary day of a trial introduced by bus drivers in opposition to SBS Transit, he known as the transport operator's lawyer Davinder Singh a "clown" and requested the choose to recuse herself from the case, alleging that she was "biased".Earlier this week, one other choose ordered Mr Ravi to pay S$10,000 in private prices to the Attorney-General over a court docket utility for 13 former and present prisoners on demise row.The choose stated Mr Ravi's conduct on this utility was "plainly unreasonable", including that it led to an "unnecessary waste of costs and time" by the Attorney-General's lawyer.In 2016, Mr Ravi was barred from making use of for a practising certificates for two years, with a court docket saying his psychological situation precipitated him to conduct himself "deplorably in relation to the judiciary, his clients and the profession as a whole".He returned to apply in 2019 and has taken on many high-profile demise row circumstances, together with that of Gobi Avedian, who escaped a demise sentence and was given jail and caning for a decreased cost.