[Yatin Oza Contempt] "Withdrawal Of Gown From Senior Advocate is Almost A Death Sentence, But Such Instances Not To Be Repeated", Says Justice Kaul

Assuring that he would be given a patient hearing and that the Court would try to put an end to his anguish, the Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the matter of advocate Yatin Oza's contempt and stripping off his seniority to a later date."I did see the record. There are a lot of question marks, in more than one matters, on his conduct. Yes, I agree that withdrawal of gown from a senior advocate is almost a death sentence", observed Justice S. K. Kaul at the outset."I am virtually on this only, on the withdrawal of gown for an indefinite period of time. And even the subsidiary points I had raised are not argumentative or in the form of a justification", said Sr. Adv. A. M. Singhvi"At the last hearing, both Mr. Dushyant Dave and I had said that there are almost 20 judgments of this Court on proportionality and disproportionality. It is like carrying coal to newcastle. The permanent or temporary nature of this death sentence has to be seen", he continued."Even if we transverse so far, this cannot be an open-ended proceeding...such instances are not to be repeated", said Justice Kaul."It goes without saying that there will be caution. He is not a fool. He knows the whole court is watching him every minute. What has been done cannot be re-winded but he has learnt a lesson", said Dr. Singhvi.Sr. Adv. Arvind Datar advanced that he has appeared before the High Court on 8-9 instances and sought 5-6 minutes of the Bench's time, urging that the whole point is hanging on three issues- "I am on the provocation for making the statement, the context and the background in which it was made. He is not a person who is repeatedly making such statements. There has to be some balancing.""Balancing has to be done. That is what we're trying to do between the parent court and the person. I am aware of both this side(Bench) and that side (Bar). You know, if it were to be an innocuous issue, how difficult it is to get a unanimous decision in a full court meeting. Something must have happened, which perturbed the Court so much for the full court to come to a unanimous decision. I am saying this de-hors the observations of the High Court, though some lee-way is given in some of the observations of the High Court. They were really pained at the conduct. This is not about sympathy only for the man but also for the institution. Proportionality has been extended also to life ban in certain case, we have to see whether this is that case or not. We have to do some monitoring, I am just putting thought in mind right now. Of course, your thought, on provocation etc, also matters. I have perused the material brought on record to tentatively put it to you", observed Justice Kaul."He was the Bar Association President. We have a long list of 290 complaints but nothing was gone into..."began Mr. Datar."Having a complaint or a perception is not a problem. You may express it through words or letters.That is what the profession is about. How you say it is what matters. I faced a situation at the Madras High Court, where a young lawyer said to me 'Will you initiate action against me for contempt?'. I said, 'There will be no contempt. Don't give yourself so much importance. Go out, have a glass of water and come back.' And this is because he was a young, enthusiastic lawyer. But if you or Dr. Singhvi or Mr. Sundaram were to do this, it would not be acceptable. Better control over emotions is expected. He has been the president of the Bar, he has greater responsibility as he is being followed by young lawyers", reflected Justice Kaul."Before the High Court, he has apologised 20-25 times..." pressed Mr. Datar."There is some angst...16 times he has been President of the Bar, that is not an ordinary feat. His lineage is so respectable. Four people from his chambers have come to the SC and numerous others in the HCs...One order was passed against me, which said, (a) apology is a part of contempt and not gown (b) apology is justification (c) the apology is not genuine (d) even if it is, it won't be accepted...just see the dilemma of the person. He stood on his head and his hands to apologise, right when the matter started. It cannot be the intention of the court to humiliate him but only to teach him a lesson for the long term?", urged Dr. Singhvi."It is said that apology comes from the heart and not from the teeth. The Judges have given an impression that here it has come from the teeth- it may be wrong, it may be right", noted Justice Kaul."What we are feeling as an association is that there is a duty to take up the issue of how the registry is functioning. The subject matter of what was spoken is not contempt. The order equates criticism of registry with criticism of the courts. We don't want that to happen. Of course, we do not subscribe to the manner in which it was said. It could have been spoken in a different manner.", advanced Mr. Datar."When we as judges write judgments, the same judgment gains praise from one quarter and criticism from...

[Yatin Oza Contempt] "Withdrawal Of Gown From Senior Advocate is Almost A Death Sentence, But Such Instances Not To Be Repeated", Says Justice Kaul

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