Transferred disciplinary proceedings under the Advocates Act must be decided by the Bar Council of India, not remanded back.

Section 36B(1) of the Advocates Act transfers disciplinary proceedings not concluded within the prescribed time to the Bar Council of India for disposal as a transferred matter under the statutory scheme of Sections 35, 36 and 36B. The transferred proceeding vests in the Bar Council of India in original jurisdiction, not appellate jurisdiction, so the power to remand associated with Section 37 does not apply. The express power to dispose of the matter does not include authority to send it back to the State Bar Council. The stated conclusion is that the Bar Council of India had no power to remand the transferred disciplinary proceeding.

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Issues: Whether, after disciplinary proceedings stand transferred to the Bar Council of India under Section 36B(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India can remand the matter back to the State Bar Council instead of deciding it itself.

Analysis: Section 36B(1) requires disciplinary proceedings not concluded within the prescribed period to stand transferred to the Bar Council of India, which is then to dispose of the matter as if it were a proceeding withdrawn for inquiry under Section 36(2). Read with the statutory scheme of Sections 35, 36 and 36B, the transferred matter vests in the Bar Council of India as original jurisdiction, not appellate jurisdiction. The power to remand is associated with appellate review under Section 37, but not with the statutory transfer contemplated by Section 36B(1). The words empowering the Bar Council of India to dispose of the matter do not include authority to send it back to the State Bar Council.

Conclusion: The Bar Council of India had no power to remand the transferred disciplinary proceeding to the State Bar Council.

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