Ajayinder Sangwan vs Bar Council Of Delhi

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION TRANSFERRED CASE (CIVIL) NO. 126 OF 2015

Ajayinder Sangwan and Ors. .... Petitioner(s)

Versus

Bar Council of Delhi & Ors. .... Respondent(s)

WITH

TRANSFERRED CASE (CIVIL) No. 110 OF 2015 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 97 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 799 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 644 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 709 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 776 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 808 OF 2016 WRIT PETITION (C) No. 1005 OF 2016

ORDER

R.K. Agrawal, J.

1) The present transferred case has originated owing to the steps

taken by the Bar Council of India to cause an enquiry and to find out

fake lawyers out of its members and/or not even a member of the Bar

Councils and/or member of any Bar Association of the country. While

countering, Bar Council of India has submitted that steps have been

taken in the matter in accordance with the Advocates Act, 1961 and

the Rules framed thereunder to come to a conclusion and to find out Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by POOJA SEHGAL Date: 2017.08.23

such number of fake lawyers in the country and only thereafter the 17:07:20 IST Reason:

elections to the State Bar Councils can be held.

2) This Court, vide order dated 05.10.2015, directed that all the

matters which are pending in different High Courts in connection with

the matter in question be transferred to this court for hearing while

refusing to grant stay in respect of giving effect to the Notification in

connection with the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of

Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015.

3) Further, in pursuance thereto, this court, vide order dated

02.11.2015, directed that the persons who are not members of the Bar

Association of any State or District or otherwise to carry on their

profession, the certificate which has been asked for by the Bar Council

of India to be attached with the application form that should be taken

into account by the respective Bar Councils allowing them to apply

and thereby on such application concerned, Bar Council will take

necessary steps to find out the correct position in respect of those

persons. It was further made clear that the persons who were

practicing as a conveyancing lawyer or otherwise or in terms of the

Rules of Advocates Act in any manner whatsoever, they should not be

interfered with carrying on their practice in such manner whatsoever

by the Bar Council of India, if they are legally enrolled through the Bar

Councils.

4) Heard learned counsel for both the sides on the question of

holding elections to the State Bar Councils at the earliest and perused the records.

5) Learned senior counsel for the Bar Council of India admitted that

the work relating to verification is very slow as the States where

Advocate Generals are functioning as the Chairman of the State Bar

Councils and elections are due, they are unable to spare time for the

affairs of the State Bar Councils due to heavy workload. Further, no

verification of certificates/degrees have been undertaken for LLB

Graduates seeking enrolment after July 2010 and the All India Bar

Examination (AIBE) cannot be said to be proof of having a valid degree

of any candidate. In order to expedite the process of verification of

degrees, the Bar Council of India proposes to constitute a Central

Verification Committee of the Bar Council of India headed by a former

Judge of this Court for the purpose of transparent and fair

verification.

6) To put it in a nutshell, the petitioners are requesting for

immediate elections of the State Bar Council as the term has expired

long back whereas the Bar Council of India is pressing for the need of

verification of the candidates to eliminate fake lawyers in order to

bring improvement in the Bar and to get deserving practicing

advocates for the respective Bar Councils.

7) We have been informed by learned senior counsel for the Bar

Council of India as well as the respective State Bar Councils that the

process of verification is not completed yet. In view of that, to do complete justice to the parties, it would be proper for us to provide a

last opportunity for the same as mentioned below:-

(1) 15 (fifteen) days’ time be given to cure the defective

applications by the concerned Advocates and to all such

advocates to submit their complete application forms for

necessary verification of their degrees if they have not submitted

the same earlier, from the date of publication of advertisement in

two leading newspapers, one in English language and the other

in regional language having wide circulation in the respective

State/Union Territories, for which advertisement shall be

published within 7 days from the passing of this order.

(2) 1 (one) month time for verification of applications, without

any charge, by the State Bar Councils, after the expiry of the

above 15 (fifteen) days.

(3) The University Authorities shall ensure the verification of

degrees awarded by them, without any charge, within 1 (month)

on its presentation.

(4) The respective State Bar Councils shall publish a Final

Electoral Roll by including the names and particulars of such

advocates whose degrees attached with the application forms

have been verified by the concerned University authorities. The

names of all such advocates who have not removed the defects in

the application forms already submitted within the specified time and also such persons whose degrees on verification have been

found false or fake by the University authorities shall not be

included in the Electoral Rolls.

(5) Bar Council of India to declare the schedule of elections in

respective State Bar Councils to be held after the expiry of 75

(seventy five) days, as mentioned above, within one week

mentioning therein:-

(i) 15 days for nomination. (ii) 1 week for withdrawal of nomination.

(iii) to upload final candidates’ list in 1 (one) week.

(iv) to decide the date of election.

8) We further make it clear that all the steps be taken by all the

parties concerned in the matter for the purpose of elections in respect

of all the Bar Councils where the term of the existing members have

already expired or to be expired. We further make it clear that

although this order has been passed in favour of the verification only

for the purpose of the election but it would also include for the

purpose of the verification of all other learned lawyers who have

already applied within the time stipulated by this Court.

9) We direct all the State Bar Councils to take necessary steps and

to conclude all proceedings by 31.12.2017 and send a reply to the Bar

Council of India. Thereafter, the Bar Council of India, after receiving

all the replies from the State Bar Councils, would file a status report.

10) We, hereby, authorize the Bar Council of India to notify all the State Bar Councils, by way of publication in two leading newspapers,

that they must take all steps to complete the process before

31.12.2017.

11) The Bar Council of India is directed to request a retired Judge of

the Supreme Court in order to control and supervise the verification

process and preparation of Electoral Rolls. We direct the Bar Council

of India to take all steps in this regard immediately in order to do the

needful. All concerned are directed to render full assistance and

cooperation to the Verification Committee. List the matter in the

second week of January, 2018 on a Non-Miscellaneous Day.

...…………….………………………J. (R.K. AGRAWAL)

…....…………………………………J. .

(ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE) NEW DELHI;

AUGUST 23, 2017.

ITEM NO.1501 COURT NO.9 SECTION XVI -A (For Judgment)

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Transfer Case (Civil) No. 126/2015

AJAYINDER SANGWAN & ORS. Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

BAR COUNCIL OF DELHI & ORS. Respondent(s)

(HEARD BY HONBLE R.K. AGRAWAL AND HONBLE ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, JJ.)

WITH T.C.(C) No. 110/2015 W.P.(C) No. 97/2016 W.P.(C) No. 799/2016 W.P.(C) No. 644/2016 W.P.(C) No. 709/2016 W.P.(C) No. 776/2016 W.P.(C) No. 808/2016 W.P.(C) No. 1005/2016

Date : 23-08-2017 These matters were called on for pronouncement of order today.

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Adv.

Mr. S.K. Sharma, Adv.

Mr. S.N. Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Arun Rathi, Adv.

Mr. Gaurav Chandhok, Adv.

Mr. Tarunesh Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Dushyant Yadav, Adv.

Mr. Deepak Sehrawat, Adv.

Mr. Rishina Parasher, Adv. Mr. Narendra Singh, Adv.

Mr. Rohan Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Irfan Firdous, Adv.

Mr. V.P. Singh, Adv.

Mr. Sanjay Verma, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Chopra, Adv.

Mr. Pradeep Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Dhan Singh, Adv.

Mr. Lalit Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Karuna Nidhar Rawal, Adv. Mr. B.N. Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Anirudha Kumar, Adv.

Mr. C.P. Singh, Adv.

Mr. Sanjay Singh, Adv.

Mr. Manoj Panchal, Adv.

Mr. Shibashish Misra, Adv. Mr. Sylona Mohapatra, Adv. Ms. Sweet Chattopadhyaya, Adv. Mr. Santosh Singh, Adv.

Mr. Sidharth Mahajan, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Kumar Jha, Adv.

Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR

Ms. K.R. Chitra, Petitioner-in-person Ms. Sarla Chandra, AOR

Mr. Sriram P., Adv.

Mr. Athira G. Nair, Adv.

Mr. Ankur S. Kulkarni, AOR

Mr. Anil Kumar Gupta-II, AOR

Mr. S. Prabakaran, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ram Sankar, Adv.

Mr. G. Ananda Selvam, Adv.

Mr. V. Senthil Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Y. Lokesh, Adv.

Mr. Surya Narayanan, Adv.

Mr. P. Jegan, Adv.

Mr. Rajaram Narayanan, Adv. Mr. R. V. Kameshwaran, AOR

Mr. Mayilsamy K., Adv.

Mr. K.P. Narayanan, Adv.

Mr. K. Muthu Ramesh Pardian, Adv. Mr. Arun Singh, Adv.

Mr. Nihangam Maurya, Adv.

Mr. P. Soma Sundaram, AOR

Mr. H.N. Nagamohandas, Adv. Mr. Anantha Narayana M.G., AOR

Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR M/s. Parekh & Co., AOR

Mr. Vidit Monga, Adv.

Mr. Vikas Upadhyay, AOR

For Respondent(s) Ms. Pinky Anand, ASG Ms. Gunwant Dass, Adv.

Mr. M.K. Maroria, AOR

Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra, Sr. Adv. Mr. S. Prabhakaran, Sr. Adv. Mr. Apurb Kumar Sharma, Sr. Adv. Mr. Nirmal Kumar Ambastha, Adv. Mr. Nitesh Ranjan, Adv.

Ms. Ansul Dwivedi, Adv.

Mr. Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad, AOR

Ms. Sarla Chandra, AOR Mr. Pranay Negi, Adv.

Ms. Khushboo Khan, Adv.

Mr. Praveen Agrawal, AOR

Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra, Adv. Mr. Gagan Gupta, AOR

Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR Mr. Ashwani Kumar Dubey, AOR

Mr. Prabhakar Parnam, Adv. Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, AOR

Ms. Nandini Gore, AOR Mr. Parmanand Pandey, AOR Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Poli Kataki, AOR

Col. R. Balasubramanium, Adv. Mr. Prateek Bhatia, Adv.

Mr. Gaurav Sharma, AOR

Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Mr. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, AOR

Ms. Fauzia Shakil, Adv.

Mr. Ujjwal Singh, Adv.

Mr. Mojahid Karim Khan, Adv. Mr. M. Shoeb Alam, AOR

Mr. Prang Neomai, Adv.

Mr. Mohinder Jit Singh, AOR

Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR Mr. Himinder Lal, AOR Mr. Shibashish Misra, AOR

Mr. Amitesh Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Shashank s. Singh, Adv. Ms. Priti Kumari, Adv.

Ms. Babita Kushwaha, Adv.

Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Sinha, AOR

Mr. Subhasish Mohanty, AOR Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.A., AOR

Mr. Amol B. Karande, AOR

Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR Mr. Anupam Lal Das, AOR

Mr. P. Venkat Reddy, Adv.

Mr. Prashant Tyagi, Adv.

M/s. Venkat Palwai Law Associates, AOR Ms. Sneha Kalita, AOR Mr. Vikas Upadhyay, AOR Ms. Aparna Jha, AOR Mr. Kailash Chand, AOR

Ms. Beena Victor, Adv.

Mr. Ravi Ramad, Adv.

Mr. Miranda Solamon, Adv.

Mr. Jogy Scaria, AOR

Mr. Rakesh K. Sharma, AOR

Ms. Sonam Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Bhavya Tandon, Adv.

Ms. Ruchi Kohli, AOR

Mr. Deepak Goel, AOR Mr. Aditya Singh, AOR

Mr. Pijush K. Roy, Adv.

Mrs. Kakali Roy, Adv.

Mr. Rajan K. Chourasia, AOR

Mr. Abhishek Swarup, Adv.

Ms. Lalita Kohli, AOR M/s. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR

Mr. Sudhanshu S. Choudhari, AOR Mr. Kishore Lambat, Adv.

Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR

Mrs. Santosh Singh, AOR Ms. Malini Poduval, AOR

Mr. Aditya Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Akash Jindal, Adv.

Mr. Tanuj Agarwal, Adv.

M/s. Parekh & Co., AOR

Mr. Anurag Dubey, Adv.

Mr. S. R. Setia, AOR

Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal, AOR Mr. Y. Raja Gopala Rao, AOR

Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR

Mr. Rajeev Singh, AOR Mr. Anjani Kumar Mishra, AOR Mr. Christi Jain, AOR Mr. Harvinder Chowdhury, AOR Mr. Suhas Kadam, Adv.

M/s Lemax Lawyers & Co., AOR

Mr. Vishal Khattar, Adv.

Ms. C. Rubavathi, Adv.

Mr. V. Senthil Kumar, Adv.

Mr. M. A. Chinnasamy, AOR

Mr. P. V. Dinesh, AOR

Mr. Buddy A. Ranganadhan, Adv. Mr. A. V. Rangam, AOR

Mr. Sunil Fernandes, AOR

Ms. Deepali S. Surana, Adv. Ms. Sugandha Jain, Adv.

Dr. Harsh V. Surana, AOR

Mr. S.N. Pandey, Intervener-in-person

Mr. Pawan Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh,Adv. Mr. Manindra Dubey, Adv.

Mr. Atul Jha, Adv.

Mr. Sandeep Jha, Adv.

Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR

Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, Adv. Ms. Bina Madhavan, Adv.

Ms. Akanksha Mehra, Adv.

Mr. Mrityunjai Singh, Adv. Ms. Swati Bhardwaj, Adv.

Mr. Piyush Dwivedi, Adv.

Mr. Prateek Dhir, Adv.

Ms. Ramandeep Kaur, Adv.

Mrs. Elizabeth Antony, Adv. M/s. Lawyer's Knit & Co.

Ms. Kasturika Kaumudi, Adv. Ms. Daisy Hannah, Adv.

Ms. Ekta Pradhan, Adv.

Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR

Mr. Sabarish Subramanian, Adv. Mr. M. Velmurugan, Adv.

Mr. Ajit Kumar Sinha, Sr. Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv.

Mr. G.S. Makkar, AOR Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.K. Agrawal pronounced the reportable

order of the Bench comprising His Lordship and Hon'ble Mr. Justice

Abhay Manohar Sapre.

The Court issued certain directions and directed to list these

matters in the second week of January, 2018 on a Non-Miscellaneous

Day in terms of the signed reportable order.

(POOJA SEHGAL) (CHANDER BALA) SENIOR PERSONAL ASSISTANT COURT MASTER (Signed Reportable order is placed on the file)