Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana (BCPH), recently suspended the license of a city-based lawyer for one year after he was found guilty of a serious professional misconduct. The decision of the Council came as a result of a complaint which was filed by the daughter-in-law of a 70-year-old landlord.
Though the name of the lawyer has not been made public, it was confirmed by the Council that strong allegations were made against the lawyer which led to such action.
Charges of False Identity and Harassment
As per the complaint filed, the house was rented by the lawyer by making false claims that he was a banker, while it was later revealed that he was a practicing lawyer.
The following allegations were also made by the complainant-
- The Lawyer did not pay the rent timely
- He harassed the 70 year old landlord
- When asked to vacate the property he demanded money
- Also the lawyer filed false criminal cases against the family of the landlord to pressurise them
Legal Notices Were Ignore
The Lawyer ignored the numerous notices as well as did not attend any hearings against him, thereby the Council passed an ex-parte proceeding against him, i.e. in his absence.
Leading to the seriousness of the allegations as well as the non-cooperative conduct of the lawyer, the license of the lawyer to practise law has been suspended by the Council for a year.
Reasons of the Disciplinary Committee:-
According to the Disciplinary Committee, the lawyer was found to be guilty of-
- Misrepresentation of his profession
- Harassing his senior citizen landlord
- Misusing his legal knowledge
- Filed false cases against the family of the landlord to pressurise them
The conduct of the lawyer was found to be a serious violation of professional ethics as well as damaging to the image of the legal profession.
The decision of the Council was based on the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of N G Dastane vs S S Shivde (AIR 2001 SC 202), related to the professional misconduct among the lawyers.
The Council, in its official statement said that, “the case against the respondent is fully proved. He is guilty of misconduct and has misused his status as an advocate. This brings a bad name to the entire legal profession. The Bar Council cannot ignore such serious misconduct. Though he deserves permanent removal from the advocate roll, considering his young career, we have decided to suspend his licence for one year with immediate effect. He is now debarred from appearing in any court of law across India.”
Conclusion
To conclude, the case is a reminder to lawyers that they are expected to uphold high ethical standards and that misusing their position and knowledge would not only harm individuals but would ultimately harm the reputation of the legal profession. The decision of the Bar Council could clearly be interpreted in terms that professional misconduct shall not be tolerated.
On the other hand though the said lawyer was found guilty by the Council, however the Council considered the fact that lawyer was just beginning his legal carrier, therefore as a strict warning warning to the lawyer he has been suspended for an year instead of being permanently removed from the list.
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sikariatech
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