9911796707
TMI Blog2014 (4) TMI 979X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Nursing Ward, Jabalpur, which was attested by the advocate appellant, it has been stated that on the Western side of the sale able property one shop adjacent to Sahara lounge presently in occupation of the complainant has already been transferred by the vendor to the advocate appellant by giving him the ownership right, although vendor's father Sardar Desh Singh Bakna had entered into an agreement to sell the suit property to the complainant on November 15, 1991 and the vendor's father has already received an amount of Rs. 2,00,000/- towards the sale consideration. The complainant alleged that he had already filed a suit for specific performance of the agreement dated November 15, 1991 which was pending and was within the knowledge of the advocate appellant. As a matter of fact, the advocate appellant had instituted a suit on behalf of Sardar Desh Singh Bakna against the complainant for eviction of the said shop showing the complainant as a tenant of Sardar Desh Singh Bakna. 3. On notice, the advocate appellant filed reply to the complaint and denied the allegations made against him. In his reply, the advocate appellant explained the circumstances in which the sale deed d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ar Council of India, vide its judgment dated October 31, 2004, allowed the appeal of the complainant; modified the punishment of reprimand awarded by the Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Council and ordered his suspension from practice for a period of one year from the date of communication of the order. By a separate order passed on that day, i.e., October 31, 2004, the cross-appeal preferred by the advocate appellant was dismissed. 8. Civil Appeal No. 2293 of 2005 preferred by the advocate appellant arises from the order of the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India whereby complainant's appeal for enhancement of punishment has been allowed, while Civil Appeal No. 4484 of 2005 has been preferred by the advocate appellant aggrieved by the order dismissing his cross- appeal as not maintainable. 9. The order dated October 31, 2004, whereby the advocate appellant's cross-appeal has been dismissed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India, reads as follows :- "After the conclusion of hearing of Disciplinary Appeal No. 55 of 2002, an application has been filed by the respondent- advocate seeking permission to file a cross- appeal in the abo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it is to the proceedings before the disciplinary committee. Section 42 of the 1961 Act makes applicable provisions of the Code in respect of matters contained therein while providing that the disciplinary committee of a Bar Council shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court. The matters contained in Section 42 do not refer to the appeals. Thus, the provisions contained in Order 41 of the Code, including Rule 22 thereof, have no applicability to the proceedings before a Disciplinary Committee. 13. Appeal is a creature of statute. The extent and scope of an appeal is governed by statutory provisions. Section 37 of the 1961 Act is the statutory provision for an appeal to the Bar Council of India from the order of the disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council. Section 39 of the 1961 Act, however, makes Sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applicable to the appeals preferred under Section 37 and Section 38 of the 1961 Act. There is no provision like Order 41 Rule 22 of the Code in the 1961 Act. The cross-objections titled 'cross-appeal' preferred by the advocate appellant being wholly mis-conceived have rightly been held to be not maintainable by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt preferred appeal. In that appeal, notice was issued to the advocate appellant and in response thereto, he did appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India on October 30, 2004 and was fully heard. The requirement of the proviso appended to Section 37(2) of the 1961 is, thus, fully met. 17. The legal profession is a noble profession. It is not a business or a trade. A person practising law has to practise in the spirit of honesty and not in the spirit of mischief-making or money-getting. An advocate's attitude towards and dealings with his client has to be scrupulously honest and fair. 18. In V.C. Rangadurai Vs. D. Gopalan and others AIR 1979 SC 281 Krishna Iyer, J. stated :- "Law's nobility as a profession lasts only so long as the members maintain their commitment to integrity and service to the community." 19. Any compromise with the law's nobility as a profession is bound to affect the faith of the people in the rule of law and, therefore, unprofessional conduct by an advocate has to be viewed seriously. A person practising law has an obligation to maintain probity and high standard of professional ethics and morality. 20. In the above ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rned senior counsel, the advocate appellant informed us that he has been suffering from glaucoma in his both eyes and was not keeping good health. 24. We find that the two applications, being Interlocutory Application No. 4 in Civil Appeal No. 4484 of 2005 and Interlocutor Application No. 8 in Civil Appeal No. 2293 of 2005, have been made by the advocate appellant and the complainant jointly for disposal of the Appeals in terms of the compromise between them. We are unable to accede to their request. In our view the settlement with the complainant does not mitigate or wipe out professional misconduct and must not prevent adequate punishment to the advocate appellant. Both these applications are, accordingly, rejected. 25. The punishment for professional misconduct has twin objectives - deterrence and correction. Having regard to the over all facts and circumstances of the case which have been noted above, we are of the view that if the advocate appellant is suspended from practice for a period of three months effective from today the above objectives would be met. We order accordingly. 26. Both Civil Appeals are dismissed with the modification in punishment as indicated above. N ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
