Lawyer booked for assaulting junior moves Kerala High Court against suspension by Bar Council

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Bar Council of Kerala to file its response to a petition moved by advocate Beyline Das challenging the disciplinary action initiated against him following allegations of assaulting a woman lawyer who worked as his junior [Beyline Das v Bar Council of Kerala].Justice N Nagaresh directed the State bar council to file its statement and posted the matter to July 1 for further hearing..Das approached the High Court seeking to set aside the suspension order imposed by the Bar Council on May 14, a day after the alleged incident.The case stemmed from a complaint by a junior woman lawyer who worked in Das's office.The woman had alleged that on May 13, Das had slapped her during an argument, causing her serious facial injuries.Subsequently, a first information report (FIR) was registered by the Vanchiyoor Police charging Das under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 74 (assault on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 115(2) (causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.Das, who was arrested after the alleged incident, was later granted bail by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Trivandrum, on May 19.Following the incident, the Trivandrum Bar Association initiated an internal inquiry and suspended Das from its membership.Subsequently, the Kerala Bar Council also took suo motu action, prohibiting Das from practicing before any court..Das is currently prohibited from appearing before any court, tribunal or authority until conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings against him.In his petition, Das pointed out that the tenure of the Kerala Bar Council had ended in November 2023 and that it no longer has the legal authority to act since no special committee was formed after May 2024 as required under the Advocates Act, 1961.He relied on a recent division bench judgement of the Court in Yeshwanth Shenoy v Bar Council of Kerala, which held that the Bar Council had ceased to exist in law and could not take any statutory decisions.Das also said that the Bar Council has no power to pass an interim suspension order under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, as only the Disciplinary Committee has the authority to take such action, and that too after holding a proper inquiry.Das submitted in his petition that the suspension order against him was passed without affording him an opportunity to be heard and even before referring the matter to the Disciplinary Committee.He also claimed that forcing him to submit a written defence before the criminal investigation was complete, went against his constitutional right under Article 20(3) (not to incriminate oneself) of the constitution. The petition stated that the Bar Council acted too quickly, without due process, and that the entire action was unfair and one-sided, especially since it was passed without any finding of guilt.Das thus sought cancellation of the show-cause notice issued by the Kerala Bar Council and the referral to the Disciplinary Committee.He also requested the Court to grant him permission to resume legal practice and to stay all disciplinary action until the criminal case is completed.The petitioner was represented by senior counsel PB Krishnan and advocate Akhil Suresh.