Khushi Doshi
Published on: March 14, 2022 at 17:39 IST
A Lawyer has been Charged by the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council with accepting Bribes in exchange for assisting in the Acquittal of four people in a Murder Case.
The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council ordered his Licence to be permanently Revoked and Directed the Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police to file a Criminal Complaint against him.
The Panel, which included Lawyers and Bar Council executive members Rakesh Gupta, Ajay Chaudhary, and Amit Jain, also ordered Jaswinder to return 10 Lakhs to two of the Complainants, with 12 percent interest per annum, as well as pay them 2 Lakhs as Compensation for the harassment within two months.
The Panel, which is made up of members of the Bar Council, a Statutory Body that Investigates Allegations of Professional Misconduct against Lawyers, issued the Order on February 12 and has now made it public.
The Complainants were Convicted in a Murder Case in 1997.
The Bar Council responded to the Complaints of two men, Hardam Singh and Piara Singh, who were among four people Convicted in an April 1997 Murder Case in Abohar Sessions Court. Following their Convictions in December 2013, they filed Supreme Court Appeals.
One of the inmates, Narinder Pal Singh, was out on Parole in January 2017 when he met Ajay Sharma, who claimed to be the clerk of Lawyer Jaswinder Singh. He promised them that if they paid a fee, he would set up a meeting with the Lawyer who would get them Acquitted.
The Case was referred to the Disciplinary Committee, and in response to the Panel’s notice, the Lawyer claimed that none of them were his clients and asked for the Complaint to be Dismissed.
The Committee determined that the Lawyer’s behaviour was suspect from the start, as he failed to file a response and then attempted to Delay the Process.
The Committee heard from 12 Witnesses, including a recorded conversation Allegedly between inmates’ family members and the Advocate, in which he Allegedly admitted to collecting the money on different days.
Finally, the Committee reached the following conclusion:
“All the facts and circumstances clearly prove that the Respondent Advocate has received an amount of ₹40 Lakh illegally from all four Convicts with the ulterior motive and intention to humiliate, harass and defraud them. In these circumstances, the Committee was left with no alternative except to hold him Guilty of Committing Professional Misconduct.”
Also Read: Bar Council of India, Jurisdiction and Rights of an Advocate