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Case Law Details

Case Name : Adv. Manoj Laxman Shirsat vs. Bar Council of India (Bombay High Court)
Appeal Number : Public Interest Litigation (LDG.) NO. 37 OF 2017
Date of Judgement/Order : 30/03/2017
Related Assessment Year :
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Bar Council of India has addressed a communication dated 26th March 2017 (Exh.B,page­24) to all the Secretaries of the State Bar Councils, informing of the said resolution and requesting the Bar Councils and Bar Associations to abstain from Court work on 31 st March 2017.

The petitioners have referred to the popular judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Ex­Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India, AIR 2003 SC 739. According to the petitioners, a stage has not yet come, where the community of lawyers are required to protest, since the suggestions made by the Law Commission against which the Bar Council of India has a grievance, has to pass through several stages before it becomes an enactment or a statute. They also indicate the procedure to be followed before the suggestions made by the Law Commission becomes a law. It is further submitted that even after the proposed suggestions become a law, the same can be challenged in the Court of law and the Court of law can always intervene and quash the amendment to the Act if it does not stand the test of law. In other words, according to them, it is a premature for the Bar Councils to give a call for abstaining from work and abstaining from work also amounts to strike which cannot be approved in the light of several judgments of the Apex Court and this High Court.

As against this, learned counsel appearing for the Bar Council of India brings to our notice paragraphs from the judgment of Ex­Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India (supra) especially observations that in rarest of rare cases where dignity or integrity or independence of the Bar and/or the Bench is at stake, the Court may ignore (turn a blind eye) to protest/ abstain from work for not more than one day. According to learned counsel appearing for the Bar Council of India, such occasion has arisen on account of suggestions made by the Law Commission, therefore, there is justification on the part of the Bar Council of India in calling for abstain from work in terms of the resolution referred to above.

Learned counsel appearing for the Bar Council for State of Maharashtra and Goa tries to distinguish between the strike undertaken by the local Bar Association on account of several circumstances and a national/ apex body of lawyers giving call in the common interest of all the lawyers community. Therefore, according to him, this is a special situation where the Courts must appreciate the situation from a different angle having regard to various grievances espoused at Annexure­A before passing the resolution in question. He further submits that since the parent/ apex body i.e. Bar Council of India gave the call, the respondent­ State Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa simply gave an appeal and no separate resolution as such has been passed by them.

 At this stage, we are not deciding correctness or otherwise of the so­called suggestions which are still in the process of becoming part of the statute. As already stated above, certain process and procedure is required to be undergone before the said proposed amendment is to be implemented. It is submitted that the suggestions made by the Bar Council of India were not considered and, therefore, they are aggrieved by the suggestions now made by the Law Commission. There is still scope for considering the grievances or objections raised to the suggestions which may become part of the draft of the Bill, because the Cabinet approval to the draft of the Bill has to be followed by the Standing Committee approval. Then only the Bill can be introduced in any of the Houses. At that stage, there is scope for a debate on the issue before it gets approval on the floor of the Houses. At that point of time, any suggestions/ objections could be raised to the draft of the bill which has to be considered by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and thereafter the Bill can be reintroduced, if any modifications are suggested. If the bill fails to get approval of the House having regard to the grievances of the stakeholders, then the suggestions or the proposal will never see the light of the day. Above procedure has to be followed before the suggestions made could be implemented.

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