Supreme Court Dismisses Advocate's Appeal Against Bar Council Rejecting Complaint Against Local Bar Association Members

The Supreme Court on Monday (February 5) declined to interfere in the civil appeal preferred by an advocate who has registered a complaint against the local bar association member for allegedly beating and assaulting him and restraining him to practice at the local court.

The alleged incident of violence took place between the appellant-advocate and the respondents-members of the local Bar Association, Baraipur, West Bengal. It was alleged by the appellant that he was subjected to continuous torture both physically and mentally and was restrained to practice before the court by the respondents.

The appellant had lodged an F.I.R. against the respondents, and the very next day the respondents have also lodged an F.I.R. against the appellant.

After that, the appellant preferred an Application under Section 35 of Advocates Act before the State Bar Council of West Bengal, which came to be dismissed with a note that since the matters are pending in the Court and the rival contentions and allegations made by the parties against which are to be proved in the course of trial before the concerned Court, it was not a fit case for the State Bar Council to proceed with under Section 35 of Advocates Act 1961.

The appellant-advocate preferred the instant Civil Appeal against the impugned order passed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India, which upheld the order passed by the State Bar Council declining to entertain the complaint of the appellant under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, 1961 for alleged violence committed against the appellant by the members of the local bar association.

At the outset, when the matter was called on for hearing, the Bench of Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan, observed that no case was made out to interfere in the impugned order passed by the Bar Council of India.

The court dismissed the appeal with a note that the liberty is being granted to the appellant to prefer a complaint under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, 1961 afresh subject to the conclusion of the pending criminal trial.

Case Details:

UTTAM KUMAR HALDER vs. ANIRUDHA ALAM

C.A. No. 000932 - / 2024

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