COVID-19: Delhi High Court dismayed over lawyer's wrong statement, recalls order

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Tuesday took strong note of a wrong statement made by an advocate without any authority on the basis of which a judicial order was passed relating to a plea to provide COVID-19 medical facilities to lawyers.

The high court cautioned the advocate about such conduct in future and said it was dismayed that he appeared in the matter without any authority and made a statement.

It recalled its order passed on Monday asking a non-operational private hospital here to handover its keys to the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) to inspect and make necessary arrangements for making it functional for providing COVID Care facilities to lawyers and their families.

During the hearing yesterday, advocate Yashvardhan S Soam claimed that he was representing Rockland Hospital in Dwarka and offered to handover keys of the non-operational institute to Bar Council of Delhi to inspect and make necessary arrangements for making it functional for providing COVID Care facilities to lawyers and their families.

However, on Tuesday, an application was filed on behalf of the the hospital, which is now known as Medeor Hospital after being taken over by another entity in 2016, submitting that advocate Soam had no authority to appear on behalf of the hospital.

Advocates Abhishek Singh and Prateek Singh, representing Medeor Hospital, said they are seeking modification of the May 3 order as the other lawyer had misrepresented the hospital and made a false statement on their behalf.

Allowing the plea, the high court recalled its May 3 order to the extent that it asked the hospital to handover keys to BCD chairman and senior advocate Ramesh Gupta.

"Advocate Soam who appeared for Rockland Hospital (on May 3) went on to say he had keys and will handover to BCD Chairman Ramesh Gupta. Now it has been transpired that he had no authority to state so or offer the keys to Gupta."

"We are dismayed that without any authority lawyer appears and makes such a statement. We have cautioned him not to indulge in such conduct in future," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said.

When Soam tried to explain his conduct, the court questioned him saying how can he make a statement without any authority and that he should not have done so.

During the hearing, senior advocate Rahul Mehra for the Delhi government, said on Monday evening he got to know that this young lawyer had no authority to make the statement.

He said people are just coming here in the hearing without authority and are making any statement.

The court was hearing a petition by advocate Manoj Kumar Singh, represented through senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, seeking appropriate direction for setting up COVID health facility for the exclusive use by advocates registered with BCD and their family members.

He said he has again requested the Delhi government to attach the guest house, shortlisted by the lawyers, with a hospital having ICU hospitals.

He said BCD has the arrangement of medical and paramedic staff, medicines and ambulances and has also acquired 100 cylinders and they only require Delhi government's help in refilling oxygen in them.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on May 6.