The Supreme Court in Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal v. Vasant D. Salunkhe & Ors. case sought the Bar Council of India's detailed reply in a contempt petition alleging disobedience of Top Court's directions asking Bar Councils to decide complaints against Advocates within 1 year of their receipt.
The Court was made aware that post the directions by the Apex Court, the Bar Council had issued a circular to all the State Bar Councils on December 27, 2021. To which, the Court remarked that mere intimation is not enough, constructive steps should be taken. Considering that 1273 complaints were transferred to the BCI from State Bar Councils over the last five years, the Court noted that a mechanism for disposal ought to be developed.
The Hon’ble Bench further asked the Bar Councils to dispose of complaints under Section 35 expeditiously and conclude the same within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the complaint as mandated under Section 36 B of the Advocates Act.
It mentioned that “The object and purpose of section 36B of the Act is not to encourage delay in the disposal of the complaint so as to enable the complaints to be transferred to the Bar Council of India by operation of law and thereby increase the burden on the All India body and at the same time create a leeway for the State Bar Council to not act on the complaints and to simply wait for the passage of time so that by operation of law the said complaint would stand transferred to the Bar Council of India.”
The Court also reiterated directions and observations of this Court passed in various judgments on the matter at hand, they are:-
“The Bar Councils are enjoined with the duty to act as sentinels of professional conduct and must ensure that the dignity and purity of the profession are in no way undermined. Its job is to uphold the standards of professional conduct and etiquette. Thus every State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India has a public duty to perform, namely, to ensure that the monopoly of practice granted under the Act is not misused or abused by a person who is enrolled as an advocate….”
“The interest of the Bar Council is to uphold standards of professional conduct and etiquette in the profession, which is founded upon integrity and mutual trust. The Bar Council acts as the custodian of the high traditions of the noble profession.”
“Every Bar Council is a body corporate. The functions of the State Bar Council are inter alia to admit persons as advocated, on its roll; to prepare and maintain such roll; to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll; to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll. The functions of the Bar Council of India are to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates, to lay down the procedure to be followed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India and the Disciplinary Committees of the State Bar Councils, to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates. A Bar Council is empowered under the Act to constitute one or more Disciplinary Committees.”