On Monday (May 26), the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by an advocate against a disciplinary order issued by the Bar Council of India (BCI), which had suspended him from practicing law for seven years.
The suspension was a consequence of the advocate driving his car into a hotel in Madurai owned by the complainant.
A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Kumar rejected the appeal.
Justice Nath remarked, “See your conduct. As a lawyer you dashed your car into the hotel of the complainant. Lawyers need to be disciplined and not spoil the image of the entire profession.”
Initially, the Bar Council of India (BCI) had imposed a one-year suspension on the lawyer. The complainant challenged this decision before the Supreme Court, which ultimately dismissed the appeal.
Subsequently, the complainant filed a review petition before the BCI. Upon review, the BCI increased the suspension period to seven years. In response, the lawyer approached the Supreme Court, contesting the enhanced punishment.
During the hearing, Advocate Abhinav Agrawal, representing the appellant-lawyer, contended that the BCI’s disciplinary committee lacked the authority to entertain a review after the Supreme Court had already dismissed the complainant’s earlier appeal on its merits. However, the bench did not accept this argument.
Agrawal referred to the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in the complainant’s appeal, where the Court had said there was no reason to change the BCI’s original order and one-year suspension, and had dismissed the case.
However, the bench pointed out that the lawyer had violated the initial suspension by filing a vakalatnama during that period. In the end, the Court dismissed the lawyer’s appeal.