TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (4) TMI 1651
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....r the Gujarat State Bar Council would propound with all the thrust at his command that BCI has unfettered jurisdiction to pass such an order inasmuch as it is the apex statutory body under the Act and it possesses plenary powers and, in any case, the language of the statutory provision does not create any impediment for the same. Mr. Anup Kumar, learned counsel for the appellant, as is expected, concurs with the proponement of Mr. Singh and further submits that the time consumed in disposal of the disciplinary authority has put the appellant in a situation of misery and, therefore, this Court should quash the initiation of the disciplinary proceedings so that efflux of time can give the appellant a healing touch and put an end to the agony he has already endured. 2. In such a situation, thinking it apposite, the Court appointed Mr. M.L. Lahoty, learned counsel, as the friend of the Court, who submitted with immense assurance that acceptance of the stand of the State Bar Council would not only run counter to the language employed by the legislature but shall cause immense violence to the same and the duty of this Court is to give full meaning to the legislative intendment. 3. ....
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.... No. 25/2010 during the statutory period, subsequently, the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of Gujarat vide letter dated 24.08.2011, transferred the D.C. Case No. 25/2010 to the BCI which was registered as BCI Tr. Case No. 197/2011. 7. The appellant contended before the Disciplinary Committee of the BCI that there was no such letter dated 01.06.2010 purported to be written by the Registrar (Inspection), High Court of Gujarat on the basis of which cognizance against appellant had been taken. The Disciplinary Committee, after hearing the appellant, vide order dated 20.06.2015 remanded the matter to the Bar Council of Gujarat with a direction to dispose of the case within a period of one year. Being aggrieved, the appellant has filed the present appeal. 8. As indicated earlier, Mr. Anup Kumar, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Disciplinary Committee of the BCI could not have remanded the matter to the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of Gujarat as the same is not permissible in a case that has been transferred to the BCI by operation of law under Section 36B(1) of the Act. 9. Mr. Ray, learned counsel for the respondent No. 1, in his turn,....
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....ncil constituted under Section 4 for the territories to which this Act extends." 12. Section 3 deals with State Bar Councils. Section 4 provides that there shall be Bar Council for the territories to which this Act extends to be known as the Bar Council of India and stipulates who shall be the members of the said Bar Council. Section 6 enumerates the functions of the State Bar Councils. Section 6(1)(c) empowers the State Bar Councils to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll. Section 7 engrafts the functions of the Bar Council of India. Section 9 deals with the Disciplinary Committees. The said provisions is reproduced below:- "Section 9. Disciplinary Committees. - (1) A Bar Council shall constitute one or more disciplinary committees, each of which shall consist of three persons of whom two shall be a person co-opted by the Council from amongst its members and the other shall be a person co-opted by the Council from amongst advocates who possess the qualifications specified in the proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 3 and who are not members of the Council, and the senior- most advocate amongst the members of a disciplinary....
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....l or an application made to it by any person interested, withdraw for inquiry before itself any proceedings for disciplinary action against any advocate pending before the disciplinary committee of any State Bar Council and dispose of the same. (3) The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India disposing of any case under this section, shall observe, so far as may be, the procedure laid down in Section 35, the references to the Advocate-General in that section being construed as references to the Attorney-General of India. (4) In disposing of any proceedings under this section the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India may make any order which the disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council can make under sub-section (3) of section, 35 and where any proceedings have been withdrawn for inquiry before the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India] the State Bar Council concerned shall give effect to any such order." 15. Section 36B that has come into force w.e.f. 31.01.1974 provides for disposal of disciplinary proceedings. The said provision is reproduced hereinbelow:- "Section 36B. Disposal of disciplinary proceedin....
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....thdrawn for inquiry before the Disciplinary Committee of the BCI, the State Bar Council concerned shall give effect to any such order. 17. Learned counsel would further urge that if the interpretation sought to be placed by the appellant is accepted, the BCI would be overburdened with original proceedings from various State Bar Councils and the mischief sought to be corrected under Section 36B(1) of the Act, namely, timely disposal of the complaint, would defeat the statutory purpose. 18. Learned Amicus Curiae submits that once a case is transferred by operation of law, it is obligatory on its part to decide the same on its merits, for the language employed under sub-section (1) of Section 36B encapsulates two concepts, namely, (i) transfer of proceedings on failure to conclude the same within one year, and (ii) the BCI is to dispose of the same as if it were the proceedings withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. Elaborating further, he would urge that there is a transfer by operation of law and the disposal has to be done as if it is a proceeding withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. According to learned counsel, once by operation of ....
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....nd injustice is likely to be caused and sometimes due to delinquent advocate. In essence, the submission of the learned counsel for the said respondent is that after transfer of inquiry, the BCI is not mandatorily commanded by law to complete the enquiry and pass an order as provided under Section 35(3) of the Act. He has also drawn inspiration from Section 49 that confers power on the BCI for discharging the functions under the Act. It is urged by him that Rule 18(5) of Part VII of the Bar Council of India contemplates an order of remand if the language used is properly appreciated. Rule 18(5) reads as follows:- "Rule 18(5). On a consideration of the report of a State Bar Council or otherwise the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India shall pass such orders as it considers proper." 22. Thus, the question, as posed earlier, fundamentally centres around the jurisdiction of the BCI. As is discernible from the language employed in Section 36B(1), the transfer takes place by operation of law. There is a further command to BCI to dispose it off as if it were a proceeding withdrawn for enquiry under sub-section (2) of Section 36. Thus, the jurisdiction for conduct....
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....1996) 4 SCC 596, the Court observed:- "It is a well-known rule of interpretation of statutes that the text and the context of the entire Act must be looked into while interpreting any of the expressions used in a statute. The courts must look to the object which the statute seeks to achieve while interpreting any of the provisions of the Act. A purposive approach for interpreting the Act is necessary." 26. In High Court of Gujarat and another v. Gujarat Kishan Mazdoor Panchayat and others (2003) 4 SCC 712 while discussing about the importance of the context, the Court stated thus:- "38. In The Interpretation and Application of Statutes by Reed Dickerson, the author at p. 135 has discussed the subject while dealing with the importance of context of the statute in the following terms: "... The essence of the language is to reflect, express, and perhaps even affect the conceptual matrix of established ideas and values that identifies the culture to which it belongs. For this reason, language has been called 'conceptual map of human experience'." 27. The aforesaid authorities give stress on textual interpretation that would match context and further to ....
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..... The Court thereafter addressed the issue of scope and ambit of jurisdiction of a quasi-judicial body whose jurisdiction is defined in such as "as it deems fit". It referred to the authorities in Raja Ram Mahadev Paranjype v. Aba Maruti Mali 1962 Supp. 1 SCR 739; AIR 1962 SC 753 and R v. Boteler (1864) 33 LJMC 101 : 122 ER 718 and opined that the discretionary jurisdiction has to be exercised keeping in view the purpose for which it is conferred, the object sought to be achieved and the reasons for granting such wide discretion. A reference was made to the decision in O.N. Mahindroo v. District Judge, Delhi (1971) 3 SCC 5 wherein this Court has held that dealing with an appeal under Section 38, the jurisdiction of the Court was not restricted, for the Court is dealing with an appeal not only on law but also on appeal on facts. In the said decision, examining the amplitude of power including the power to review, the Court observed:- "Such powers may be exercised in a suitable case for or against an advocate even after the matter has gone through the hands of the Disciplinary Committee at some stage or even through this Court. These matters are also not governed by the anal....
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.... Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, In re (1995) 3 SCC 619, the Court, taking note of various instances which deserve to be described as unfortunate, both for the legal profession and the administration of justice, observed thus:- "The legal profession is a solemn and serious occupation. It is a noble calling and all those who belong to it are its honourable members. Although the entry to the profession can be had by acquiring merely the qualification of technical competence, the honour as a professional has to be maintained by its members by their exemplary conduct both in and outside the court. The legal profession is different from other professions in that what the lawyers do, affects not only an individual but the administration of justice which is the foundation of the civilised society. Both as a leading member of the intelligentsia of the society and as a responsible citizen, the lawyer has to conduct himself as a model for others both in his professional and in his private and public life. The society has a right to expect of him such ideal behaviour." 33. The Court further stated:- "If the profession is to survive, the judicial system has to be v....
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....profession and the expectation from the society from the members of the legal profession. 38. In Dhanraj Singh Choudhary v. Nathulal Vishwakarma (2012) 1 SCC 741, it has been observed that an Advocate's attitude towards dealing with his client has to be scrupulously honest and fair and the punishment for professional misconduct has twin objectives - deterrence and correction. 39. Having noted these authorities, we may recapitulate what Krishna Iyer, J. had to say in V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan and others (1979) 1 SCC 308:- "5. Law's nobility as a profession lasts only so long as the members maintain their commitment to integrity and service to the community." 40. In this regard, a speech from Eulogy of Judges by Piero Calamandrei Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1946), p.45. would be seemly:- "The difference between the true lawyer and those men who consider the law merely a trade is that the latter seek to find ways to permit their clients to violate the moral standards of society without over-stepping the letter of the law, while the former look for principles which will persuade their clients to keep within the limits of the spirit ....