Prashant Bhushan. (File) The Delhi High Court Thursday restrained the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) from passing a final order in disciplinary proceedings against advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has challenged the action being taken on a complaint alleging that he appeared on behalf of three NGOs before the court despite being a member of governing bodies of those organisations.
Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing Bhushan, before the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla argued that the BCD Wednesday reserved its order on the complaint after hearing the matter despite knowing that the challenge was pending before the HC and was scheduled for hearing Thursday.
The counsel representing the BCD sought an adjournment from the court on account of non-availability of a senior counsel. While listing the case for hearing on November 29, the court said, “We stay the passing of the final order in the proceedings against the petitioner till the next date.”
The court last year had issued notice to the Bar Council of India too in Bhushan’s petition, which also challenges the rule that prevents advocates from appearing even pro bono in public interest cases on behalf of the organisations of which they happen to be office bearers or members of their executive committee.
In the petition filed through advocate Neha Rathi, Bhushan has argued that there is “absolutely no rationale or justification” for a rule which bars an organisation from engaging one of its own members who happens to be an advocate to represent it in a case which it takes up even in public interest and without any fees. The rule challenged by Bhushan is Rule 8 of the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquettes Rules framed under the Advocates Act by the Bar Council of India.
A complaint was filed against Bhushan in 2017 for appearing on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Common Cause and Swaraj Abhiyan. A similar complaint had been filed against him in 2001 for appearing on behalf of People’s Union for Civil Liberties on the grounds that he was its member, according to the petition, which adds that the same was dropped in 2012 on orders of the High Court.
Bhushan in the petition has argued that the complaint pending against him has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee despite the fact that he has resigned from the position of office bearer of the three organisations. “The act of appearing pro-bono on behalf of a non-profit organisation despite being a member of the executive committee cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as professional misconduct,” the petition states.
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