'Not Given Opportunity To Defend Himself': Rajasthan HC Expunges Adverse Remarks Against Advocate For Allegedly Using 'Undisciplined Language'

The Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court directed expunging of adverse remarks against an advocate, having a practice of more than 19 years, put on record by a division bench of the Court in its order in a criminal miscellaneous petition on the ground that the “petitioner misbehaved with the Court and used undisciplined language/words and failed to maintain the discipline of the Court and left the desk from the Court after showing tantrums and attitude”.Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand relief upon the Supreme Court case of Neeraj Garg vs. Sarita Rani and Others in which it was held that, “While it is of fundamental importance in the realm of administration of justice to allow the judges to discharge their functions freely and fearlessly and without interference by anyone, it is equally important for the judges to be exercising restraint and avoid unnecessary remarks on the conduct of the counsel which may have no bearing on the adjudication of the dispute before the Court… The Appellant whose professional conduct was questioned, was not provided any opportunity to explain his conduct or defend himself. The comments were also unnecessary for the decision of the Court. It is accordingly held that the offending remarks should be recalled to avoid any future harm to the appellant's reputation or his work as a member of the Bar.”It was the case of the petitioner that he was an advocate with an unblemished career of more than 19 years, and by way of filing an affidavit, he had submitted that he had the highest regard for the majesty of the law and could not think of disobeying the court by indiscipline or misbehaviour. It was further submitted that no opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner before recording the adverse remarks which would affect his professional career. After hearing the contentions, the Court opined that an advocate, being an officer of the Court was supposed to convince the Court by his/her logical arguments and control his emotions instead of making any faces or expressing disagreements or gratitude over Court's order. It was held that maintenance of ethical standards was necessary to uphold the dignity of the legal profession and controlling emotions depicted seriousness and professionalism. “Advocates are officers of the Court first and they are the mouth speaker of their clients after that. Being officer of the Court, an Advocate is not expected to be either discourteous to the Court or Judge or use intemperate language against the Judge. Instance of any kind of misbehavior towards the Court cannot be tolerated. Courts can function only in a cordial atmosphere.” The Court also made a reference to the Supreme Court case of Chetak Construction Ltd. vs. Om Prakash in which it was held that, “Indeed, no lawyer or litigant can be permitted to browbeat the court or malign the presiding officer with a view to get a favourable order. Judges shall not be able to perform their duties freely and fairly if such activities were permitted and in the result administration of justice would become a casualty and the rule of law would receive a setback.”Pursuant to these observations, the Court considered the arguments by the petitioner and relied upon the Supreme Court cases including the Neeraj Garg Case to direct expunging of the adverse remarks based on the fact that no opportunity of hearing was provided by the division bench to the advocate before recording the adverse remarks which could have harmed his reputation as a member of the Bar, nor were the remarks necessary for the decision in the matter being heard. Accordingly, the petition was allowed and the adverse remarks passed against the petitioner were directed to be expunged. Title: Pallav Sharma v State of Rajasthan & Ors. Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 22Click Here To Read Order

'Not Given Opportunity To Defend Himself': Rajasthan HC Expunges Adverse Remarks Against Advocate For Allegedly Using 'Undisciplined Language'

Nupur Agrawal

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