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TMI Blog2002 (1) TMI 1206X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at he and his client had settled the dispute by making a late payment to his client. Facts of this case is so glaring that the misconduct of the appellant in the present case is of a far graver dimension. Hence we dispose of this appeal by imposing the punishment of removal of the name of the appellant from the roll of the advocates. He would, thus, stand debarred from practising in any court or before any authority. - CIVIL APPEAL NO. 200 OF 2000 - - - Dated:- 8-1-2002 - K.T. THOMAS AND S.N. PHUKAN, JJ. M.M. Kashyap for the Appellant. JUDGMENT K.T. Thomas, J. - We are sad that the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India (the Disciplinary Committee) despite being the acme statutory body entrusted with the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Compensation of Rs. 8,118 for the acquisition of the land of the said Baiju was deposited by the State in the Court. Appellant applied for releasing the amount and as per orders of the Court, he withdrew the said amount on 2-9-1987. But he did not return it to the client to whom it was payable, nor did he inform the client about the receipt of the amount. Long thereafter, when the client came to know of it and after failing to get the amount returned by the advocate, complaint was lodged by him with the Bar Council of the State for initiating suitable disciplinary action against the appellant. 5. On 12-7-1988, appellant filed a reply to the said complaint before the Bar Council of the State. He admitted having been engaged by the resp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... taking the cheque from the Land Acquisition Officer in his own name, the respondent has failed to make the payment to the complainant who is an illiterate, poor person and his money has been misappropriated by the respondent-advocate." 8. In this appeal, appellant first pleaded that he is not liable to be punished at all and then contended alternatively that he has given the money to the client subsequently. But the factual position is so strong against the appellant that he could not show a single circumstance to accept his defence that he had paid the amount to the client. The finding of the Disciplinary Committee that the delinquent advocate "has withdrawn the compensation of Rs. 8,118 and has not paid it to the complainant for t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Committee should weigh various factors. One of them is the acute need to cleanse the legal profession from those who are prone to misappropriating the money of the clients. Deterrence is thus a prominent consideration. This is particularly necessary at a time when the legal profession has become crowded as it is today, without there being any filtering process at the admission stage. Secondly, to keep up the professional standards, it is necessary that nobody should form the impression that once a person is admitted to the legal profession, he would be immune to any punitive measures, and is free to indulge in nefarious activities. The only authority which can effectively maintain the probity of the legal profession is the Disciplinary ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... turned the money before commencing the disciplinary proceedings. 13. In the present case, the misappropriation remained unabated even after the disciplinary proceedings commenced, and it continued even till now as the delinquent advocate did not care to return even a single pie to the client. The misconduct of the appellant-advocate became more aggravated when he determined to forge an affidavit in the name of his client, which he produced before the Disciplinary Committee in order to defraud his client, and to deceive the Disciplinary Committee to believe that he and his client had settled the dispute by making a late payment to his client. 14. By retaining such an advocate on the roll of the legal profession, it would be unsafe to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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