New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that an advocates unprofessional conduct has to be viewed seriously,because if one blinked at blots on the nobility of the profession,it was bound to adversely impact peoples faith in the rule of law.Legal profession is a noble profession.It is not a business or atrade.A person practising law has to practise in the spirit of honesty and not in the spirit of mischief making or money-getting.An advocates attitude and dealings with his client have to be scrupulously honest and fair, a bench of Justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale said.
The judgment came in a case where an advocate had surreptitiously usurped a part of the property over which his client was litigating with another person.
The Madhya Pradesh Bar Council had found the litigants charges against the advocate to be true and suspended him from practising law for a year.The advocate appealed against the councils decision,pleading innocence.However,when the bench nailed his lies,he pleaded for leniency saying he was suffering from glaucoma and also produced a compromise with his client on the issue.
Justice Lodha,writing the judgment for the bench,rejected the twin requests and said,In our view,the settlement with the complainant does not mitigate professional misconduct and must not prevent adequate punishment to the advocate appellant. It added,The punishment for professional misconduct has twin objectives deterrence and correction.Having regard to the overall facts and circumstances of the case,we are of the view that if the advocate appellant is suspended from practise for three months,the above objective would be met.
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