09/19/2022
We very well know that with passing time the legal research methodology has been revamped by the introduction and use of user-friendly websites like SCC, Manupatra, etc. but the charm of reading age-old Law Reporters in their printed form is unmatchable.
Today, I was reading Cuttack Law Times (CLT 1998 Vol. 85) and found an interesting case where one Ishwar, an Advocate, assaulted his Opponent Counsel in the courtroom with a knife. He was convicted of the offence of attempting to commit murder punishable under section 307 of I.P.C. When the matter came before the Apex Court (Hikmat Ali Khan v. Ishwar Prasad Arya, (1997) 3 SCC 131, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1933600/) it held: “The gravity of the misconduct committed by him is such as to show that he is unworthy of remaining in the profession”.
Also, it pointed out that “in view of the provisions of Sections 35(b), (c) & (d) and 24-A of the Advocates Act, 1961, the conduct involving conviction of an offence involving moral turpitude which would disqualify a person from being enrolled as an advocate has to be considered a serious misconduct when found to have been committed by a person who is enrolled as an advocate and it would call for the imposition of the punishment of removal of the name of the advocate from the roll of advocates”.
Interestingly, the Legal Practitioners Act 1879, the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Bar Council of India are silent in providing an exact definition for ‘professional misconduct’ because of its wide scope. However, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has elucidated on the concept of ‘misconduct’, and its application in Sambhu Ram Yadav v. Hanuman Das Khatry, Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dabholkar, R.D. Saxena v. Balram Prasad Sharma, State of Punjab and Others v. Ram Singh Ex. Constable and Noratanmal Chouraria v. M.R. Murli and Another.
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