Advocates Being Officers Of Court Have Larger Duty Towards Court: Himachal Pradesh HC Closes Arguments In Case Due To Counsels' Failure To Appear

The Court observed that despite being granted repeated opportunities and time to present their arguments, the counsels representing the private respondents failed to appear before the Court or shirked their responsibility.

Expressing deep concern over the conduct of the private respondent's counsels, a bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin C Negi observed.

“An Advocate has twofold duties, one towards his client and another towards the Court. Being Officer of the Court, he has larger duty towards the Court. In present case, learned counsel representing the private respondents have failed to perform their prime duty to assist the Court in imparting justice by not addressing arguments despite being facilitated by the Court by granting time repeatedly”.

The case, which has been under the court's scrutiny since April 22, 2023, revolves around the legality of the Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances, Powers, Privileges and Amenities) Act, 2006. The core issue at hand is whether the State Legislature has the legal competence to enact this legislation.

Despite the gravity of the matter and the court's efforts to ensure a fair hearing, the private respondents' counsels have consistently failed to fulfill their obligations to the court, prompting the justices to take this unprecedented action.

Highlighting various instances where the private respondents' legal representatives either avoided addressing arguments or sought unnecessary adjournments the court emphasized that an advocate's duty extends not only to their client but also to the court itself, and the failure to assist the court in imparting justice is unacceptable.

The bench expressed deep anguish over the conduct of the private respondents' counsels, stating that their behaviour has hindered the administration of justice. It added,

“In the aforesaid circumstances, we are constrained to infer that private respondents are not interested to address the arguments on their behalf as literally, their counsel are not only playing hide and seek but have also refused to perform their duties by arguing the matters on behalf of their clients, by abstaining from addressing the Court. Therefore, arguments on behalf of the private respondents are considered to be closed and concluded”,

Furthermore, the court granted one final opportunity to the State respondents to present their arguments on a day-to-day basis, starting from the next hearing scheduled for May 8, 2024. The court has also indicated that it will consider modifying a previous order to stay a notification dated January 8, 2023, depending on the conduct of the respondents and their legal representatives in the upcoming proceedings.

The matter has been posted on May 8th 2024 for arguments of the State Respondents.

Case Title: P. Kalpana Devi Vs. State of H.P. alongwith connected matter.

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