Unit 3 of Practical Training – I: Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System (syllabus: Module 3 — Advocates Act ss. 35–38, 36B, 44; the Disciplinary Committees). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What does 'professional or other misconduct' mean, and why did Parliament leave it undefined?
- Where is the line between negligence and professional misconduct?
- Who hears a complaint against an advocate, and what powers does the committee have?
- How does a disciplinary proceeding run, and can a complaint be withdrawn once the parties settle?
- What is the standard of proof in a disciplinary proceeding, who bears the burden, and must a charge be framed?
- What punishments may be imposed for professional misconduct, and how has the quantum been controlled?
- When does the Bar Council of India take a disciplinary case over from a State Bar Council?
- What remedies has an advocate against an order of punishment, and does an appeal stay the punishment?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. s. 35(1), with ss. 2(1), 7(1)(b) and 49(1)(c)
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. s. 35
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. ss. 9, 35(1A), 42 and 42A, with Part VII, Chapter I of the Bar Council of India Rules
- Bar Council of India Rules, Part VII, Chapter I, s. rules 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 33 and 35, with ss. 35(2), 35(5), 36(3) and 43 of the Advocates Act, 1961
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. s. 35, with s. 35(3)(d)
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. ss. 35(3), 35(4), 41, with s. 24A and the proviso to s. 26(1)
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. ss. 36, 36A and 36B, with rule 17(2) of Part VII, Chapter I of the Bar Council of India Rules
- Advocates Act, 1961, s. ss. 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 48A and 48AA
Leading cases
- R.D. Saxena v Balram Prasad Sharma (Supreme Court
- An Advocate v Bar Council of India (Supreme Court
- Shambhu Ram Yadav v Hanuman Das Khatry (Supreme Court
- P.D. Gupta v Ram Murti (Supreme Court
- D.P. Chadha v Triyugi Narain Mishra (Supreme Court