Advocate has no license to intimidate Court: Bombay High Court
The decision that an advocate has no license to intimidate Court was upheld by the Bombay High Court through Justice Anuja Prabhudessai in the case of Dipak Kalicharan Kanojiya v. State of Maharashtra (CRIMINAL BAIL APPLICATION. NO. 3198 OF 2021)
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The applicant had circulated the matter for urgent listing, and when the Court asked if there was any urgency to take the matter out of turn, the applicant’s counsel, Anjali Patil, went completely off the rails, alleging that this Court was giving priority to certain matters and to certain advocates, implying that the Court was not fair and prejudiced.
Counsel also claimed that the Court does not provide justice to the plaintiffs. She threatened to file a complaint with the Chief Justice about the conduct of this Court, and she also requested time to record the facts on an affidavit.
JUDGEMENT:
The High Court stated that Anjali Patil, the applicant’s lawyer, went well beyond the bounds of decorum when she aired accusations of bias and injustice in an open Court. Her behaviour was unethical and disrespectful of an advocate.
The Court held “It has to be borne in mind that casting scurrilous aspersions not only has the inevitable effect of undermining the confidence of the public in the judiciary but also has the tendency to interfere with the administration of justice.”
JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY REETI SHETTY