Expressing disapproval over the recent trend of litigants lodging or threatening to lodge complaints of alleged misconduct against lawyers appearing for the opposite party, the Bombay High Court said that the consequences of such complaints on lawyers are indescribable.
A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale noted that these complaints have serious consequences on the lives and careers of lawyers and cause mental trauma.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by advocate Geeta Shastri, challenging an order passed by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa to initiate disciplinary proceedings against her based on a complaint of forgery and perjury made by a litigant.
Filing such complaints has become a “fashion”
The judges noted that filing such complaints has become a “fashion”.
“We are constrained to note that this unfortunately has now become a fashion in this court, where litigants on one side routinely file complaints with the Bar Council against the advocates of the opposing party. That is a practice to be deprecated in all circumstances,” the judges said in their order.
Like all advocates, the advocates of the opposite party have a duty to their clients and to the court, the bench said.
“This constant threat of disciplinary complaints against the opposing counsel is actually being used in several matters that have come before us to intimidate and browbeat the opposing counsel, and to ensure that the opponent does not get adequate or proper legal representation,” the HC added.
The judges said that they had recently witnessed an “extremely unfortunate case” where this was done to a very young advocate. “That young advocate's entire life and career would have been ruined because of this type of complaint by the litigant,” the judges averred.
Judges concerned with standards of the Bar & welfare of the advocates
The judges further said that they do not merely adjudicate disputes, but are also concerned with the standards of the Bar and the welfare of the advocates. The same should not be compromised because of some “fanciful notions that a litigant may have”, they added.
The HC said that there was no merit in the complaint against advocate Shastri and there was no misconduct on her part. It directed the Bar Council of India to pass necessary directions dismissing the complaint.
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