Bombay High Court Frowns On Lawyer Blaming Junior For Missing Appearance, Orders Him To Gift Book On Constitutional Law To Junior

“We find it most unfortunate that the Appellant’s Advocate on record has sought to lay the blame for non-appearance at the hands of a junior Advocate, who had infact enrolled as an Advocate less than two months before the date on which the said Appeal came to be dismissed”, the court remarked.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor directed the senior lawyer Jayesh Patel to gift the book ‘Working in a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience by Granville Austin’ to the junior advocate as a gesture of goodwill.

“it would be apposite that instead of granting costs in the conventional sense, that the learned Advocate on record for the Appellant gift a copy of ‘Working in a Democratic Constitution : The Indian Experience by Granville Austin’ to the learned junior Advocate, whose name finds mentioned in Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Interim Application. This, in our view, would serve as a gesture of goodwill and erase any misunderstanding or ill will that may have occurred in the mind of learned junior Advocate”, the court said.

The case revolves around a commercial appeal filed by Memon Co-operative Bank Ltd which was dismissed on November 24, 2022, due to the absence of counsel on behalf of the appellant. The Bank filed an Interim Application (IA) seeking the restoration of the appeal citing an oversight by a junior advocate, responsible for checking the causelist, as the reason for Patel’s absence in the court.

She did not inform her senior that the matter was listed on the weekly board from November 24, 2022 to November 25 2022, the court was told. The junior advocate filed an affidavit taking responsibility for the oversight. The court expressed displeasure over the senior lawyer blaming his junior who had enrolled in the bar less than two months before the date of dismissal.

Advocate Raj Patel appearing for the appellant-bank tendered an apology to the court and assured the court that the junior advocate's name would be expunged from the record. He emphasized that the appellant had always diligently pursued the appeal and requested the court to grant it a second chance.

Advocate Harshad Sathe for Prernal Amarlal, the respondent, highlighted inconsistencies in the affidavit in support of the IA and sought its dismissal.

The court noted appellant had pursued the appeal until the date of dismissal. Thus, the court decided to restore the appeal in the interest of Justice.

The court decided against imposing conventional costs on the appellant and proposed that the senior lawyer gift the book to the junior lawyer. The senior lawyer accepted the court's direction.

The Interim Application was allowed and disposed of accordingly.

Another appeal by the Bank was also dismissed on November 15, 2022, due to non-appearance of the counsel. In an IA filed for restoration of that appeal, the same reason for absence was given. The court also restored that appeal and directed Patel to gift a copy of the book The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation by Granville Austin to the junior lawyer.

Case no. – Interim Application Nos. 2277 of 2023

Case Title – Memon Co-operative Bank Ltd. In the matter between Memon Co-operative Bank Ltd. v. Prema Amarlal Gera & Anr.

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