BCI should ensure swift disposal of complaints against lawyers to maintain litigants' faith in legal system: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently asked the the Bar Council of India (BCI) to ensure swift disposal of cases transferred to it from State Bar Councils and relating to complaints by litigants against lawyers [Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal vs Vasant D Salunkhe and ors]..A Bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari said that quick disposal of such cases is essential so as to maintain the discipline and purity of legal profession and also to ensure that litigants continue to have faith in the legal profession and the judiciary.Section 36(b) of the Advocates Act provides for the disciplinary committee of State Bar Councils to dispose of complaints they receive within a period of one year, failing which such proceedings are transferred to the BCI."To have the discipline and maintain the purity of the profession the complaints made by the concerned litigants are required to be dispose of at the earliest so that the litigants may continue to have the faith in the profession and in its system," the Court said.It, therefore, gave a final extension of three months to the BCI in this regard, and asked it to dispose of such cases by December 31 this year..The present case arose out an contempt petition filed by advocate Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal against the BCI for non-compliance with the top court's December 2021 decision in K Anjinappa vs KC Krishna Reddy and anr. In that ruling, the Bench of which comprised Justice Shah and Justice BV Nagarathna had, among other things, directed the BCI to dispose of transferred complaints within a year.“ ... we direct the Bar Council of India to finally dispose of the transferred complaints, the particulars of which are referred to hereinabove expeditiously but not later than one year from today and for which even the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India may hold circuit hearings ... We also direct the respective State Bar Councils to decide and dispose of the complaint(s) received by it under Section 35 expeditiously and to conclude the same within a 2 period of one year from the date of receipt of the complaint as mandated under Section 36B of the Advocates Act," that judgment had said.When the matter was first listed in May 20 this year, the Bench had noted that the BCI had merely issued a circular to remind/intimate State Bar Councils to comply with the top court's directions. The Court had then said that the same was not sufficient.In the latest order passed on September 29, the apex court at the outset observed that in most of the complaints transferred to the BCI, the concerned inquiry officers appointed had not submitted the necessary reports towards disposal. Senior Advocate and BCI Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra apart from asking for a further extension of time of three months to dispose of cases, submitted that circuit benches of BCI in concerned States would deal with the complaints. The bench also noted the submission that the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa was not transferring the cases despite statutory provisions of needing to do so after a year of a complaint's pendency. The Bench stressed on the importance of early disposal of cases that have been pending with State Bar Councils for over a year, and urged the BCI to ensure the same.The matter will be heard next on January 9, 2023. .Advocate Anil Kumar also appeared for the petitioner. Advocates Apurba Sharma, Anjul Dwivedi, and Radhika Gautam also represented the respondents. [Read order]