The high court has listed the plea for hearing on Friday. (File) Observing that an “advocate as an officer of court is under obligation to maintain dignity and decorum of court and there is no licence to intimidate the court,” Justice Anuja Prabhudessai of the Bombay High Court pulled up a lawyer for “grossly overstepping” limits of propriety by making allegations that the judge was giving priority to certain matters and certain lawyers and was acting in biased manner.
The judge noted that casting “scurrilous aspersions” has “an inevitable effect of undermining the confidence of the public in judiciary” and also has a tendency to “interfere with administration of justice”.
In her April 19 order, Justice Prabhudessai noted that advocate Anjali Patil had circulated a bail application of one Dipak Kalicharan Kanojiya for urgent listing and the court raised a query as to whether there was an urgency to take the matter out of turn.
Kanojiya, who was booked by Thane Police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 had moved a bail application in the high court in September 2021.
Patil made allegations that “this court is giving priority to certain matters and to certain advocates and thus insinuated that the court was not fair and was biased,” the judge noted.
The judge noted that Patil complained of litigants not getting justice from the court and went on with the “the tirade in full presence of the litigants and lawyers without allowing the court to proceed with the matter in hand or to take up other matters”.
Patil then threatened to lodge a complaint before the Chief Justice of the high court about the judge’s conduct and sought time to place the facts on record in an affidavit.
“The advocate has every right to protect the interest of his/her clients. An advocate is answerable to his/her clients and the frustration of an advocate when the matter gets adjourned for whatsoever reason or does not reach the board is understandable. At the same time, an advocate as an officer of the court is under an obligation to maintain the dignity and decorum of the Court. There is no room for arrogance and there is no licence to intimidate the court, make reckless accusations and allegations against a judge and to pollute the very fountain of justice,” the judge said.
The high court has listed the plea for hearing on Friday.
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