Bar Council thinks allegations are serious, but we do not: Bombay High Court grants partial relief to Gunratan Sadavarte

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa (BCMG) to dismiss one of the complaints filed against advocate Gunratan Sadavarte..A division bench of Justices GS Patel and Neela Gokhale took the BCMG to task for even entertaining the complaint filed by activist Nitin Sanjay Yadav. Referring to a video on social media platforms, one of the allegations in the complaint was that Sadavarte’s underaged daughter was driving a car without a license, with Sadavarte inside the car..The Court was aghast at the level of allegations being entertained by BCMG and ordered them to ensure that the complaint by Yadav is dismissed without requiring Sadavarte’s physical presence.“Bar Council thinks such allegations are serious, but we do not think so. If this is not stopped on May 18 in its trap, we will stop it and then we will have things to say. We will not put him (Sadavarte) through that humiliation. You will on your own dismiss it whether the complainant appears or not,” the Court ordered..However, the Court did not grant similar relief with respect to another complaint..This complaint was filed against Sadavarte by advocate Sushil Manchekar, former president of the Pimpri Court Bar Association. Manchekar alleged that the lawyer had a worn black coat with bands at public events - including an agitation by (MSRTC) employees - in violation of Rules framed by the Bar Council of India (BCI).It was also alleged that Sadavarte had made "obnoxious" statements to consciously mislead protestors without any due diligence, thereby resulting in their suicide..The High Court directed Sadavarte to file a reply to this complaint and appear before the committee to argue his side. The Court also asked the State Bar Council to not proceed on this complaint till further orders..The Bench also asked Sadavarte, who was appearing in person, to engage a lawyer to ensure that arguments are submitted dispassionately.“We will suggest you engage a counsel in this. It is important that you argue the matter dispassionately. There is an English maxim - A man who is his own lawyer (has a fool for a client)… You know the rest." Granting time to Sadavarte to engage a lawyer, the Court posted the matter for hearing on March 23..[Read order]