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TMI Blog2017 (4) TMI 1651X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... intendment nor the legislative purpose. The legislature, as found, never intended a complaint made against an Advocate either from the perspective of the complainant or from the delinquent to be transferred to BCI, again to be sent back. It appropriate to state that there is a distinction between an appellate jurisdiction which the BCI exercises under Section 37 and the original jurisdiction under Section 36B(1). While exercising the appellate jurisdiction, the BCI can remand the matter to the State Bar Council. In this context, reference to a three-Judge Bench in Narendra Singh v. Chhotey Singh and another [ 1983 (8) TMI 303 - SUPREME COURT] , would be apt. The Court thereafter addressed the issue of scope and ambit of jurisdiction of a quasi-judicial body whose jurisdiction is defined in such as as it deems fit . It referred to the authorities in Raja Ram Mahadev Paranjype v. Aba Maruti Mali [ 1961 (12) TMI 96 - SUPREME COURT] and opined that the discretionary jurisdiction has to be exercised keeping in view the purpose for which it is conferred, the object sought to be achieved and the reasons for granting such wide discretion. A reference was made to the decision in O.N. Mahind ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ry authority has no such power. Mr. D.N. Ray, learned counsel appearing for the Gujarat State Bar Council would propound with all the thrust at his command that BCI has unfettered jurisdiction to pass such an order inasmuch as it is the apex statutory body under the Act and it possesses plenary powers and, in any case, the language of the statutory provision does not create any impediment for the same. Mr. Anup Kumar, learned counsel for the appellant, as is expected, concurs with the proponement of Mr. Singh and further submits that the time consumed in disposal of the disciplinary authority has put the appellant in a situation of misery and, therefore, this Court should quash the initiation of the disciplinary proceedings so that efflux of time can give the appellant a healing touch and put an end to the agony he has already endured. 2. In such a situation, thinking it apposite, the Court appointed Mr. M.L. Lahoty, learned counsel, as the friend of the Court, who submitted with immense assurance that acceptance of the stand of the State Bar Council would not only run counter to the language employed by the legislature but shall cause immense violence to the same and the duty of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 50,000/-. However, as no order could be passed in D.C. Case No. 25/2010 during the statutory period, subsequently, the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of Gujarat vide letter dated 24.08.2011, transferred the D.C. Case No. 25/2010 to the BCI which was registered as BCI Tr. Case No. 197/2011. 7. The appellant contended before the Disciplinary Committee of the BCI that there was no such letter dated 01.06.2010 purported to be written by the Registrar (Inspection), High Court of Gujarat on the basis of which cognizance against appellant had been taken. The Disciplinary Committee, after hearing the appellant, vide order dated 20.06.2015 remanded the matter to the Bar Council of Gujarat with a direction to dispose of the case within a period of one year. Being aggrieved, the appellant has filed the present appeal. 8. As indicated earlier, Mr. Anup Kumar, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Disciplinary Committee of the BCI could not have remanded the matter to the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of Gujarat as the same is not permissible in a case that has been transferred to the BCI by operation of law under Section 36B(1) of the Act. 9. Mr. Ray, lear ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 4 for the territories to which this Act extends. 12. Section 3 deals with State Bar Councils. Section 4 provides that there shall be Bar Council for the territories to which this Act extends to be known as the Bar Council of India and stipulates who shall be the members of the said Bar Council. Section 6 enumerates the functions of the State Bar Councils. Section 6(1)(c) empowers the State Bar Councils to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll. Section 7 engrafts the functions of the Bar Council of India. Section 9 deals with the Disciplinary Committees. The said provisions is reproduced below:- Section 9. Disciplinary Committees. (1) A Bar Council shall constitute one or more disciplinary committees, each of which shall consist of three persons of whom two shall be a person co-opted by the Council from amongst its members and the other shall be a person co-opted by the Council from amongst advocates who possess the qualifications specified in the proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 3 and who are not members of the Council, and the senior- most advocate amongst the members of a disciplinary committee shall be the Chairman thereof. (2) Notwit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... advocate pending before the disciplinary committee of any State Bar Council and dispose of the same. (3) The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India disposing of any case under this section, shall observe, so far as may be, the procedure laid down in Section 35, the references to the Advocate-General in that section being construed as references to the Attorney-General of India. (4) In disposing of any proceedings under this section the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India may make any order which the disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council can make under sub-section (3) of section, 35 and where any proceedings have been withdrawn for inquiry before the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India] the State Bar Council concerned shall give effect to any such order. 15. Section 36B that has come into force w.e.f. 31.01.1974 provides for disposal of disciplinary proceedings. The said provision is reproduced hereinbelow:- Section 36B. Disposal of disciplinary proceedings- (1) The disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council shall dispose of the complaint received by it under Section 35 expeditiously and in each cash the proceedings shall be concl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ght to be placed by the appellant is accepted, the BCI would be overburdened with original proceedings from various State Bar Councils and the mischief sought to be corrected under Section 36B(1) of the Act, namely, timely disposal of the complaint, would defeat the statutory purpose. 18. Learned Amicus Curiae submits that once a case is transferred by operation of law, it is obligatory on its part to decide the same on its merits, for the language employed under sub-section (1) of Section 36B encapsulates two concepts, namely, (i) transfer of proceedings on failure to conclude the same within one year, and (ii) the BCI is to dispose of the same as if it were the proceedings withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. Elaborating further, he would urge that there is a transfer by operation of law and the disposal has to be done as if it is a proceeding withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. According to learned counsel, once by operation of law the case is transferred, it has to be disposed of by the BCI and the manner of disposal will not confer jurisdiction on it to send back the case to the State Bar Council. 19. In this context, it is appropri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to complete the enquiry and pass an order as provided under Section 35(3) of the Act. He has also drawn inspiration from Section 49 that confers power on the BCI for discharging the functions under the Act. It is urged by him that Rule 18(5) of Part VII of the Bar Council of India contemplates an order of remand if the language used is properly appreciated. Rule 18(5) reads as follows:- Rule 18(5). On a consideration of the report of a State Bar Council or otherwise the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India shall pass such orders as it considers proper. 22. Thus, the question, as posed earlier, fundamentally centres around the jurisdiction of the BCI. As is discernible from the language employed in Section 36B(1), the transfer takes place by operation of law. There is a further command to BCI to dispose it off as if it were a proceeding withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. Thus, the jurisdiction for conducting the enquiry and disposal of the complaint is conferred on the BCI by the mandate of the Act. The context, the intention and the purpose is clear as crystal. The BCI is required to exercise original jurisdiction that was to be exercised by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... achieve while interpreting any of the provisions of the Act. A purposive approach for interpreting the Act is necessary. 26. In High Court of Gujarat and another v. Gujarat Kishan Mazdoor Panchayat and others (2003) 4 SCC 712 while discussing about the importance of the context, the Court stated thus:- 38. In The Interpretation and Application of Statutes by Reed Dickerson, the author at p. 135 has discussed the subject while dealing with the importance of context of the statute in the following terms: The essence of the language is to reflect, express, and perhaps even affect the conceptual matrix of established ideas and values that identifies the culture to which it belongs. For this reason, language has been called conceptual map of human experience . 27. The aforesaid authorities give stress on textual interpretation that would match context and further to explore the intention of the legislature. The authorities further emphasise the words have to be understood regard being had to the purpose behind it and hence, the concern with the intention is basically to decipher the meaning of the word that the legislature has placed on it. When the language employed under Section 36B(1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he discretionary jurisdiction has to be exercised keeping in view the purpose for which it is conferred, the object sought to be achieved and the reasons for granting such wide discretion. A reference was made to the decision in O.N. Mahindroo v. District Judge, Delhi (1971) 3 SCC 5 wherein this Court has held that dealing with an appeal under Section 38, the jurisdiction of the Court was not restricted, for the Court is dealing with an appeal not only on law but also on appeal on facts. In the said decision, examining the amplitude of power including the power to review, the Court observed:- Such powers may be exercised in a suitable case for or against an advocate even after the matter has gone through the hands of the Disciplinary Committee at some stage or even through this Court. These matters are also not governed by the analogy of autrefois convict or autrefois acquit in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Disciplinary proceedings against a lawyer involve not only the particular lawyer but the entire profession. The reputation of the legal profession is the sum total of the reputation of the practitioners. The honour of the lawyer and the purity of the profession are the primary ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gh the entry to the profession can be had by acquiring merely the qualification of technical competence, the honour as a professional has to be maintained by its members by their exemplary conduct both in and outside the court. The legal profession is different from other professions in that what the lawyers do, affects not only an individual but the administration of justice which is the foundation of the civilised society. Both as a leading member of the intelligentsia of the society and as a responsible citizen, the lawyer has to conduct himself as a model for others both in his professional and in his private and public life. The society has a right to expect of him such ideal behaviour. 33. The Court further stated:- If the profession is to survive, the judicial system has to be vitalised. No service will be too small in making the system efficient, effective and credible. The casualness and indifference with which some members practise the profession are certainly not calculated to achieve that purpose or to enhance the prestige either of the profession or of the institution they are serving. If people lose confidence in the profession on account of the deviant ways of some o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Krishna Iyer, J. had to say in V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan and others (1979) 1 SCC 308 :- 5. Law s nobility as a profession lasts only so long as the members maintain their commitment to integrity and service to the community. 40. In this regard, a speech from Eulogy of Judges by Piero Calamandrei Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1946), p.45. would be seemly:- The difference between the true lawyer and those men who consider the law merely a trade is that the latter seek to find ways to permit their clients to violate the moral standards of society without over-stepping the letter of the law, while the former look for principles which will persuade their clients to keep within the limits of the spirit of the law in common moral standards. 41. We have a purpose in referring to the aforesaid pronouncements. A lawyer is treated as a part of the noble profession and expected as an elite member of the society, to be professionally responsible and constantly remind himself that his services are rendered to the consumers of justice. As has been held in Pandurang Dattatraya Khandekar v. Bar Council of Maharashtra, Bombay and others (1984) 2 SCC 556 , an advocate stands ..... 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