Supreme Court Directs BCI And State Bar Councils To Dispose Of Complaints Within One Year; Suggests Empaneling Retired Judicial Officers As Inquiry Officers [Read Judgment]

Advocate Mr Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad appeared for the Bar Council of India, also, Senior Advocate and Chairman of Bar Council of India Mr Manan Kumar Mishra was present during the proceedings before the Apex Court.

The Supreme Court has directed the State Bar Councils and Bar Council of India to dispose of the complaints received against Advocates within a period of one year from the date of its receipt.

The Bench has further observed that only in exceptional cases and for the reasons to be recorded where it is found for valid reasons, the proceedings could not be completed within the period stipulated under Section 36B of the Advocates Act, then only such proceedings shall stand transferred to the Bar Council of India and on such transfer, the Bar Council of India shall also dispose of the such transferred proceedings/complaints within a period of one year from receipt of such transferred proceedings.

The Court took note of 1273 cases complaints pending disposal and held, "Bearing in mind the fact that 1273 complaints (minus 27 complaints which are disposed) are pending before the Bar Council of India, it is just and necessary that a mechanism be found for disposal of the said complaints in accordance with the procedure prescribed."

The Court in this context further opined –

"For an efficient and quick disposal of the complaints by the Bar Council of India vis-à-vis those complaints which have been transferred to it as per section 36B of the Act, the Bar Council of India may consider empanelling experienced and seasoned advocates and/or retired judicial officers to act as Inquiry Officers where an inquiry would be necessitated."

In this case, the Appellant had filed a complaint against his Advocate on the ground of professional misconduct. The complaint was initially filed before the State Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh, however, it did not dispose of the complaint within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the complaint as stipulated under Section 35 of the Advocates Act. Due to this, the complaint was transferred to the Bar Council of India as per Section 36B of the Advocates Act.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India dismissed the complaint by observing that the complaint was not at all maintainable.

Aggrieved, the Appellant-Complainant approached before the Supreme Court.

The Appellant contended before the Supreme Court that out of the 1273 transferred cases a total of 646 cases were received by the Bar Council of India during the period between January 2019 to December 2021. These cases could not be disposed of due to the pandemic situation prevailing in the country during this period as the hearing could not be conducted through virtual mode and the complainants were required to be physically present before the Disciplinary Committee to lead their evidence.

While Senior Advocate and Chairman of Bar Council of India Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra contended before the Court that Bar Council of India shall issue necessary directions to the State Bar Councils in the exercise of powers under Section 48B of Advocates Act directing all State Bar Councils or any Committee thereof to dispose of the complaint(s) received under Section 35 of the Advocates Act within a period of one year positively and without fail.

If for any valid reason(s), the State Bar Council is not able to dispose of the complaint(s) within a period of one year, then along with the reasons to be recorded as to why the said complaint(s) could not be disposed of within a period of one year, the said complaint be transferred to the Bar Council of India as per Section 36B of the Advocates Act, Mishra submitted.

The Apex Court did not agree with the reasoning of the Appellant of not disposing of the complaints by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India. In this context, the Court observed –

"The COVID-19 pandemic commenced only in March, 2020. As per the chart submitted by the Bar Council of India, in the year 2016, a total of 171 cases; in the year 2017, a total of 242 cases; in the year of 2018, a total of 214 cases and in the year 2019, a total of 490 cases were transferred to the Bar Council of India. At-least those cases could have been disposed of by the Bar Council of India at the earliest."

The Court also held that under the Advocates Act, a duty is cast upon the Bar Council of India/State Bar Councils to safeguard the integrity of the legal profession. It is the duty of the Bar Council of India/respective State Bar Councils to ensure the nobility of the legal system at all costs.

Further, the Court held that not disposing of the complaint within the stipulated time would be tantamount to failure on the part of Bar Council of India/State Bar Councils to perform their duty cast under the Act.

The Court in this regard directed the Bar Council of India to dispose of the transferred complaints expeditiously but not later one year from today and for which even the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India may hold circuit hearings.

"The Bar Council of India may issue suitable directions to the State Bar Council to enlist a panel of Inquiry Officers for the purpose of conducting the inquiry on behalf of the Bar Council of India in the respective States itself and on conclusion of the said inquiry to transmit the inquiry report to the Bar Council of India for enabling it to take it further action in the matter," the Bench opined.

In the light of these observations, the Court disposed of the appeal with a direction that no further order was required on the complaint made by the Appellant.

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