Plea in Kerala High Court accuses lawyer of withholding former client's case files

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court accusing an advocate of withholding a his former client's case files despite repeated requests and directions from a Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) to return them [Hashim H v Bar Council of Kerala & ors]..Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas on Friday sought a response from the lawyer named in the petition, advocate Rahib KY.The case is listed on April 10 for further consideration..The plea before the Court was filed by one Hashim H. The petitioner has urged the High Court to direct the Bar Council of Kerala to promptly decide a complaint filed by him accusing his former lawyer of professional misconduct. Hashim submitted that he has a motor accident compensation claim pending before the MACT at Ernakulam, and that he had earlier engaged Advocate Rahib to be his lawyer in the said case. However, after differences arose between him and the advocate, the petitioner sought the return of his case files and advocate Rahib's formal relinquishment of the vakalath (authorisation to act as one's advocate).Hashim claims that the advocate initially agreed before the MACT to relinquish his vakalath and handover the files. However, the lawyer later failed to do so.The petitioner alleges that despite issuing notice and making repeated requests, the advocate neither returned the case files nor cooperated in transferring the case to another counsel.The plea further states that the lawyer sent unsigned relinquishment letters and veiled threats through WhatsApp..The petitioner eventually informed the MACT of this turn of events. In an order dated October 31, 2025, the MACT observed that the matter concerns professional misconduct, which falls within the domain of the Bar Council. Therefore, it granted the petitioner liberty to pursue appropriate remedies before the disciplinary authority. The petitioner then submitted a detailed complaint before the Bar Council of Kerala on November 5, 2025. However, the petitioner says that no action has been taken so far on his complaint. He has argued that this delay has affected him seriously as his compensation claim remains stalled due to the absence of case files. The continued delay in prosecuting this claim directly affects his livelihood, medical needs and the welfare of his family, the petitioner added. Therefore, he has now urged the High Court to intervene in the matter so that the Bar Council decides on his complaint in a time-bound manner and so that his former lawyer is made to return the case files he has allegedly refused to hand back to the petitioner. .Advocate Anjaly TA appeared for the petitioner.