Suspension Of Work Citing T-20 Cricket Match: P&H Bar Council Issues Show Cause Notice To Patiala Bar Assoc President

The Punjab and Haryana Bar Council has issued a show-cause notice to the president of the Patiala District Bar Association for passing a resolution to observe 'No work after lunch' in courts in the Patiala district in view of the T20 World Cup semi-final match on November 10.

In its notice, the Bar Council has said that it was astonished to see the resolution in question passed by Advocate Jatinderpal Singh Ghumaan, in the capacity of President of District Bar Association Patiala.

Stressing that the Bar Council believes in observing high moral/ethical/etiquette values in all respects and expects the same from all Bar Associations, more importantly from its elected representatives, the notice further states thus:

"Those who live by the law, should keep the law. An advocate is considered as an officer of the Court, honored member of the community, and a gentleman, thinking that to become a member of the Bar he has to be lawful and moral not only in his professional capacity but also in his non-professional capacity. Advocates have a continuing responsibility to uphold the fundamental principles of justice from which the law cannot depart, further to ensure that access to justice should never be put on hold."

Significantly, the Notice further states that the resolution issued by the Association's president was a complete departure from the established rules on professional standards as mentioned in Chapter II, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules and precedents.

Therefore, the Council has directed the President of the Association, Mr. Ghumaan to submit a written explanation pertaining to the resolution in question and provide the Council with a valid cause as to why appropriate action should not be taken in this regard.

It may be noted that a similar notice has been sent to the President of the Samrala Bar Association, Karnail Singh Dhillon who recently requested the Presiding Officers of the Samrala Court (Ludhiana District) to "adjust and adjourn cases" on November 21 as around 25 Advocates of the Association are going on a one-day trip to Morni Hills (Panchkula, Haryana).