NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented happening, the UP special investigation team has booked 28 advocates for filing fake motor accident claim petitions before tribunals leaving the Supreme squirming at the ination on the part of Bar Council of UP and calling upon the Bar council of India to take suitable action.
Understanding the angst of the bench comprising Justices M R Shah and Sanjiv Khanna and bound by the promise made by BCI’s counsel Ardhendumauli Prasad that the apex regulatory body for lawyers would take suitable action, the BCI led by senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra has suspended the 28 advocates’ right to practice.
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court constituted a SIT to probe into 233 cases of suspicious claims before various Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals. The SIT had submitted a status report on 92 criminal cases registered in various districts till date, of which 28 advocates have been named as accused persons in 55 cases. The investigation has been concluded/completed in 32 cases and the change sheet has been filed. Of the 28, as many as eight are from Saharanpur, four from Meerut, three each from Etawa and Aligarh, two each from Lucknow, Rae Bareily, Ghaziabad and Muzaffarnager.
BCI on Monday said, “The Council, after thorough discussion and deliberation, has resolved to put 28 Advocates under suspension whose names are listed in FIRs/Charge-Sheets, till the proceedings against them are completed. BCI also directed the State Bar Council of UP to initiate disciplinary proceedings against these advocates and conclude the inquiry within a period of three months and submit the report to the BCI.”
The SC bench led by Justice Shah had noticed this irregularity in the month of October and sought for UP Bar Council’s response. But, the state council had repeatedly failed to respond and be represented before the apex court.
The bench on November 16 had said, “We observed that it is very unfortunate that in such a serious matter, where the allegations are of filing of fake claim petitions in which the advocates are also alleged to have been involved, the Bar Council of UP is not giving instructions to their advocate and it shows the callousness and insensitiveness on the part of the Bar Council of UP”. It then requested BCI to look into the matter.
It said, “Filing of the fake claim petitions is a very serious matter. It ultimately affects the credibility of the institution as a whole. Legal profession is always considered to be a very noble profession and such things of filing fake claim petitions in the Courts cannot be tolerated. It is the duty of the Bar Council of the State and the Bar Council of India to maintain the dignity and restore the glory of the legal profession.”
The SIT was constituted by the Allahabad HC’s Lucknow bench to investigate 233 suspicious claims which have been dismissed, dismissed in default or for non-appearance of advocates by the tribunals involving claim amount of over Rs 300 crore. “It is very unfortunate that despite the fact that the FIRs have been filed as far as back in the year 2016-2017, still the investigation is reported to be pending. Even in the cases where charge sheets have been filed, no charge has been framed by the courts below,” the bench said.
“The SIT was constituted by the HC to look into the filing of the fake claim petitions and with the specific purpose. Still the investigation in most of the cases/FIRs is reported to be pending. We deprecate the negligence and or lethargy on the part of the SIT in not concluding the investigation even after 4-5 years and the of the FIR,” it said.