UNIT 9 – DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING AGAINST THE3 LAWYER FOR

THE VIOLATION OF ETHICS RULES

1. RULES RELATING TO THE DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AND

REVIEW
2. COMPLAINT & INQUIRY UNDER SECTION 35, 36 & 36B OF THE
ADVOCATES ACT
3. 50 SELECTED DECISIONS OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF
BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

1. RULES RELATING TO THE DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AND

REVIEW

Proceedings to be in camera

All the proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee shall be held in camera.
Inspection of Records and Copies

Inspection of any of the records in any proceeding before the Disciplinary Committee may be permitted to the
parties. They have to present an application duly signed by the applicant or his advocate. They also have to pay
a prescribed fee. The permission is given on any working day except during the summer or other vacations of
the Supreme Court.

An application for inspection shall be made to the Registrar of the Disciplinary Committee. The Registrar of
the Disciplinary Committee may permit the inspection in his presence or in the presence of any member of the
staff authorised by him.

The person inspecting shall not be entitled to make copies of the record of which inspection is granted. He
shall, however, be permitted to make short notes with a  pencil.

Copies of Records and Judgments

Certified copies of the records of a case pending before the Disciplinary Committee may be granted to the
parties or to their counsel on an application made in that behalf and on payment of the prescribed fee.

A copy of a final judgment in a decided case may be given to any person applying for the same on payment of
the prescribed fee. However, the name of the advocate against whom the proceedings were taken shall be
omitted.

Order Awarding Costs

All orders where costs are awarded in disciplinary proceedings shall specify the amount of costs awarded. It
shall also state the party against whom the order is made and the time within which the amount is payable.
As soon as possible after such an order is made by the Disciplinary Committee, in respect of every order where
costs are awarded to any of the parties, a decretal order shall be drawn up. This is signed by the Secretary of
the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India as the case may be, as Registrar of the Disciplinary
Committee and bearing the seal of the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India as the case may be.

This decretal order shall be furnished to any party to the proceeding on application made and on payment of
the charges prescribed under the rules.

Copies of Final Orders

The Secretary of the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India as the case may be, shall send to each of the
parties in the proceedings, a certified copy of the final order.

It shall be signed by him as Registrar of the Disciplinary Committee and bearing the seal of the State Bar
Council/Bar Council of India as the case may be. No charges shall be payable on the copies so sent. Charges as
prescribed under the rules shall however be payable for all additional copies of the said order applied for.

2. COMPLAINT AND INQUIRY UNDER SECTION 35, 36 & 36B OF

THE ADVOCATES ACT

Section 35 in THE ADVOCATES ACT, 1961

35. Punishment of advocates for misconduct.—
(1) Where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise a State Bar Council has reason to believe
that any advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct, it shall refer
the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee. 1[(1A) The State Bar Council may, either
of its own motion or on application made to it by any person interested, withdraw a
proceeding pending before its disciplinary committee and direct the inquiry to be made by
any other disciplinary committee of that State Bar Council.]
(2) The disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council 2[***] shall fix a date for the hearing
of the case and shall cause a notice thereof to be given to the advocate concerned and to the
Advocate-General of the State.
(3) The disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council after giving the advocate concerned
and the Advocate-General an opportunity of being heard, may make any of the following
orders, namely:—
(a) dismiss the complaint or, where the proceedings were initiated at the instance of the State
Bar Council, direct that the proceedings be filed;
(b) reprimand the advocate;
(c) suspend the advocate from practice for such period as it may deem fit;
(d) remove the name of the advocate from the State roll of advocates.
(4) Where an advocate is suspended from practice under clause (c) of sub-section (3), he
shall, during the period of suspension, be debarred from practising in any court or before any
authority or person in India.
(5) Where any notice is issued to the Advocate-General under sub-section (2), the Advocate-
General may appear before the disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council either in
person or through any advocate appearing on his behalf. 3[Explanation.—In this section,
4[section 37 and section 38], the expressions “Advocate-General” and Advocate-General of
the State” shall, in relation to the Union territory of Delhi, mean the Additional Solicitor
General of India.]

Section 36 in THE ADVOCATES ACT, 1961

36. Disciplinary powers of Bar Council of India.—
(1) Where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise the Bar Council of India has reason to
believe that any advocate 1[***] whose name is not entered on any State roll has been guilty
of professional or other misconduct, it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary
committee.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, the disciplinary committee of the
Bar Council of India may, 2[either of its own motion or on a report by a State Bar Council or
on an application made to it by any person interested], withdraw for inquiry before itself any
proceedings for disciplinary action against any advocate pending before the disciplinary
committee of any State Bar Council and dispose of the same.
(3) The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India, in disposing of any case under
this section, shall observe, so far as may be, the procedure laid down in section 35, the
references to the Advocate-General in that section being construed as references to the
Attorney-General of India.
(4) In disposing of any proceedings under this section the disciplinary committee of the Bar
Council of India may make any order which the disciplinary committee of a State Bar
Council can make under sub-section (3) of section 35, and where any proceedings have been
withdrawn for inquiry 3[before the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India] the
State Bar Council concerned shall give effect to any such order.

Section 36 B : Disposal of disciplinary proceedings

(1) The disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council shall dispose of the complaint received by
it under section 35 expeditiously and in each case the proceedings shall be concluded within a
period of one year from the date of the receipt of complaint or the date of initiation of the
proceedings at the instance of the State Bar Council, as the case may be, failing which such
proceedings shall stand transferred to the Bar Council of India which may dispose of the same as
if it were a proceeding withdrawn for inquiry under sub-section (2) of section 36.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where on the commencement of the
Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1973 (60 of 1973), any proceedings in respect of any disciplinary
matter against an advocate is pending before the disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council,
that disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council shall dispose of the same within a period of
six months from the date of such commencement or within a period of one year from the date of
the receipt of the complaint or, as the case may be, the date of initiation of the proceedings at the
instance of the State Bar Council, whichever is later, failing which such proceedings shall stand
transferred to the Bar Council of India for disposal under sub-section (1).