Alarmed by the increasing instances of unruliness in the legal profession, the Supreme Court has asked the Law Commission of India to review “all relevant aspects” relating to the law governing advocates, including issues like professional misconduct.
Centre to file affidavit“We hope the Government of India will consider taking further appropriate steps in the light of the report of the Law Commission within six months thereafter. The Central government may file an appropriate affidavit in this regard within one month after expiry of one year,” a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Anil R. Dave observed in a judgment recently.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, sought a review while upholding the conviction of Mahipal Singh Rana, an Uttar Pradesh-based advocate for criminal contempt for intimidating and threatening a civil judge in Etah.
It also affirmed the direction of the Allahabad High Court that Rana should not be permitted to appear in courts in Etah district until he undergoes the punishment for the contempt.
The direction assumes importance in the context of the recent instances of alleged violence by lawyers in Delhi and Chennai and strikes by lawyers in different parts of the country, including Telangana.
The instant case of professional misconduct against the lawyer had begun in 2003 when the Civil judge (Senior Division), Etah, wrote two letters to the district judge and the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court alleging misconduct on the part of the lawyer in the court room on April 16, 2003.
As per the letters, the advocate had appeared in the court of the civil judge and started threatening and shouting at the judicial officer for passing an adverse order against his relative.
