Counsel Sends Illness Slip But Appears Elsewhere: Allahabad High Court Imposes ₹20,000 Costs
The Allahabad High Court has recently, imposed a cost of Rs. 20,000 on a lawyer appearing for anticipatory bail application, for attempting to deceive the Court by sending an illness slip while appearing in another case before another Court on the same day.
Noting that the counsel had appeared on another case on the same day while sending an illness slip in the present case and also not apprising the Court of the fact that the applicant had already obtained interim protection from arrest in another case, Dr. Justice Gautam Chowdhary observed,
“Learned counsel for the applicants made no effort to apprise the Court of the correct status of the matter, as such this Court takes serious note of the same. The conduct of the counsel for the applicants demonstrate that the counsel for the applicants makes an attempt to deceive the Court that amounts to interference with the administration of justice especially when numbers of fresh cases are being filed everyday and the Courts are already overburdened with the pendency of cases. Being officer of the Court, it is the duty of the learned counsel to assist the Court with true facts so as to save the precious time of the Court. By the conduct offered by learned counsel for the applicants, precious time of the Court has been wasted in the instant case.”
There were multiple disputes between the applicants and informants in which Court had granted protection to the applicants. It was pleaded that the informant out of ill-will filed another complaint before the Magistrate which was treated as an FIR. The applicants sought anticipatory bail in these proceedings.
During the hearing, counsel for the informant informed the Court that while the counsel for the applicants has sent an illness slip in the anticipatory bail, he had appeared in a special appeal before another Court.
Noting that interim protection from arrest had already been granted to the applicants in another case arising from the same proceedings, the Court dismissed the anticipatory bail.
Observing that the counsel for applicant had tried to deceive the Court, a cost of Rs. 20,000 was imposed on the counsel with a period of one month, failing which matter may be placed before Bar Council of U.P. for taking an appropriate action against him.
Case Title: Arun Kumar Yadav v. State of U.P. and Another