Bar Council of India chairman can’t issue gag order against advocates: Karnataka HC

Subsequently, the Bar Council of India instituted a committee to look into respective issues – Basavaraj’s allegations, the alleged defamatory worldly connected societal media against the KSBC bureau bearers, and the alleged fiscal irregularities by going done the documentation and holding an audit by a qualified chartered accountant.

In the interim, a gag bid was issued against the advocates and KSBC members not to marque immoderate statements oregon dispersed accusation regarding the lawsuit which had allegedly included misappropriation of funds.

Basavaraj’s counsel argued that the Bar Council of India had nary powerfulness to walk specified an order, which would beryllium violative of the cardinal close to escaped speech.

The seat observed, “The contented present would be, whether the president of the Bar Council of India is empowered to walk specified gag orders against the fraternity of advocates astatine large, ordering them not to talk anything. This, connected the look of it, would magnitude to imposing a restraint connected the code of the advocates.”

The tribunal added that though the applicable statute gave the Bar Council of India powerfulness of wide supervision and power implicit the authorities barroom councils, this would not spell to the grade of passing gag orders.

“The president of the Bar Council of India ostensibly cannot walk immoderate specified gag bid which takes distant the cardinal close of immoderate advocate. The powerfulness of the courts either competent civilian tribunal oregon the law tribunal cannot beryllium permitted to beryllium usurped by the president of the Bar Council of India, arsenic is done successful the lawsuit astatine hand,” the tribunal concluded.

The tribunal past directed that the bid directing restraint would beryllium obliterated.