Supreme Court Directs Bar Councils To Decide Complaints Against Advocates Within One Year Of Their Receipt; Suggests Empaneling Retired Judicial Officers As Inquiry Officers

On Friday, the Supreme Court issued directions to the State Bar Councils to dispose of complaints under Section 35 expeditiously and conclude the same within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the complaint as mandated under Section 36 B of the Advocates Act. The Apex Court also passed directions to expedite the disposal of the transferred proceedings before the Bar Council of India.

A bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna held that only in exceptional cases and on providing cogent and valid reasons for non-disposal within one year, the proceedings would be transferred to the Bar Council of India. It further observed that BCI ought to dispose of the transferred proceedings/complaints within a period of one year from the receipt of transfer.

"We also direct the respective State Bar Councils to decide and dispose of the complaint(s) received by it under Section 35 expeditiously and to conclude the same within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the complaint as mandated under Section 36B of the Advocates Act".

Considering that 1273 complaints were transferred to the BCI from State Bar Councils over last five years, the Court noted that a mechanism for disposal ought to be developed.

"For an efficient and quick disposal of the complaints by the Bar Council of India vis-à-vis those complaints which have been transferred to it as per section 36B of the Act, the Bar Council of India may consider empanelling experienced and seasoned advocates and/or retired judicial officers to act as Inquiry Officers where an inquiry would be necessitated. On such inquiry being concluded the report of the Inquiry Officers could be received by the Bar Council of India. On consideration of the said inquiry report, the Bar Council of India could pass appropriate orders on the complaint."

The Court directed BCI to issue directions to State Bar Council to enlist a panel of Inquiry Officers for conducting the inquiry on behalf of BCI and upon enquiry provide report to BCI so that it can take appropriate actions. The complainants and the concerned advocates against whom the complaints can appear before the Inquiry Officers in the State where the complaints are filed.

"This would also remove the difficulties caused to the parties to travel from various parts of the country to Delhi for appearing before the inquiry, if any, to be conducted on the complaints filed by the complainants."

To expedite the process of disposal of complaints at the state level, the Court directed the Disciplinary Committee of State Bar Councils to meet on a regular basis. It further directed the State Bar Council to enlist a panel of Inquiry Officers who could be entrusted with the conduct of the inquiry as and when the same is necessitated on a complaint. The disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council on consideration of the said inquiry report would pass orders in accordance with the provision of section 35 of the Act.

Not impressed by the justification of Bar Council of India

The BCI told the Court that the pendency of the complaints was primarily due to COVID pandemic. The Court said that it was not impressed with this reasoning.

"We are not at all impressed by the reasoning given by the learned counsel on behalf of the Bar Council of India for not disposing of the transferred complaint(s) by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India. The COVID-19 pandemic commenced only in March,2020. As per the chart submitted by the Bar Council of India, in the year2016, a total of 171 cases; in the year 2017, a total of 242 cases; in the year of 2018, a total of 214 cases and in the year 2019, a total of 490 cases were transferred to the Bar Council of India. At-least those cases could have been disposed of by the Bar Council of India at the earliest. One can appreciate the delay in disposal of the transferred complaint(s)received in the year 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic but not for the earlier period".

The Court said that the statistics not only reflect on the increasing number of complaints being filed against the advocates but also the fact that the State Bar Councils have not discharged their duty in disposing of these complaints within a period of one year and have simply allowed the complaints to be transferred by operation of law from the State BarCouncils to the Bar Council of India in terms of section 36B of the Advocates Act.

Bench summarizes principles on advocacy

"We are constrained to issue the aforesaid directions and suggestions having regard to the observations of this Court which are extracted as under:-

(i) "The Bar Councils are enjoined with the duty to act as sentinels of professional conduct and must ensure that the dignity and purity of the profession are in no way undermined. Its job is to uphold the standards of professional conduct and etiquette. Thus every State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India has a public duty to perform, namely, to ensure that the monopoly of practice granted under the Act is not misused or abused by a person who is enrolled as an advocate. The Bar Councils have been created at the State level as well as the Central level not only to protect the rights, interests and privileges of its members but also to protect the litigating public by ensuring that high and noble traditions are maintained so that the purity and dignity of the profession are not jeopardized."

[Indian council of Legal Aid and Advice v. Bar Council of India, (1995) 1 SCC 732]

(ii) "The interest of the Bar Council is to uphold standards of professional conduct and etiquette in the profession, which is founded upon integrity and mutual trust. The Bar Council acts as the custodian of the high traditions of the noble profession."
[Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dabholkar, (1975) 2 SCC 702]

(iii) "Every Bar Council is a body corporate. The functions of the State Bar Council are inter alia to admit persons as advocated, on its roll; to prepare and maintain such roll; to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll; to safeguard the rights, privileges and interest of advocates on its roll. The functions of the Bar Council of India are to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates, to lay down the procedure to be followed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India and the Disciplinary Committees of the State Bar Councils, to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates. A Bar Council is empowered under the Act to constitute one or more Disciplinary Committees."
[Adi Pherozshah Gandhi v. H.M. Seervai, Advocate General of Maharashtra, (1970) 2 SCC 484]

(iv) "The Bar Council has a very important part to play, first, in the reception of complaints, second, in forming reasonable belief of guilt of professional or other misconduct and finally in making reference of the case to its Disciplinary Committee."
[Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dabholkar, (1975) 2 SCC 702]"

[Case Title: K. ANJINAPPA vs. K.C. KRISHNA REDDY C.A. No. 7478/2019]

Citation : LL 2021 SC 750

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