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The vacation bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justices Abdul Naseer and Indu Malhotra made an oral observation on 22nd June 2018 while hearing a writ petition filed by Deepak Kalra that bar associations can’t deny advocates the right to legally represent any individual.
Deepak Kalra had filed a writ petition before the Hon’ble court against the Jabalpur’s District Bar Association’s resolution of prohibiting advocates from representing him while contesting several matters against his estranged wife in the district court. The petitioner had appeared before a court in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in March in a case involving his wife wherein he was falsely accused of slapping the counsel representing his wife leading to a lot of ruckus in the court premises. He was subsequently beaten up and taken to the police station and then released on bail on March 15. Thereafter, he was informed of the Jabalpur District Bar Association’s instructions of prohibiting advocates from representing him. On 16th May, the petitioner approached the NHRC seeking redressal where he also raised the issue of harassment in police custody. However, NHRC’s failure to take any action compelled him to approach the apex court. The apex court immediately issued a notice to the state of Madhya Pradesh and the Bar Council of India on the petition on June 13th. However, the counsel on behalf of the BCI argued that the bar association’s impugned resolution as remarked by the petitioner is prima facie incorrect and lacks evidence barring a newspaper report about such an instruction issued on 19th March 2018.
The petitioner relied on the recent case of Mohd Akhtar v. State of Jammu & Kashmir to emphasize on his fundamental rights. He has further sought guidelines prohibiting advocates’ body from interfering in the discharge of an individual advocate’s duty towards his clients citing the incidents of the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case.
A notice was issued by the Supreme Court on 22nd June 2018 on the petitioner’s request for allowing him to avail the services of the Supreme Court Mediation Centre, subject to the petitioner bearing costs of boarding, communication, lodging and legal representation if any, incurred by his wife.
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