Non -Reportable  

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL   No  .294   of   2007

ANAND KUMAR SHARMA        ....  Appellant

Versus

BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA  THROUGH  SECRETARY  &  ANOTHER ….Respondents

W I T H  

CIVIL APPEAL No._2426-2427 of 2019 [ Arising out of S.L.P. (Civil)…6383-6384/2019

CC Nos. 10531 - 10532 of 2013]

ANAND KUMAR SHARMA    ....  Appellant

Versus

BAR COUNCIL OF RAJASTHAN  & ANOTHER  ….Respondents

J U D G M E N T

L. NAGESWARA RAO, J.

Leave granted in S.L.P. (C)..CC Nos. 10531 - 10532 of

2013.     

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1. The Appellant was enrolled as an advocate in the Bar

Council of Himachal Pradesh in July, 1988.  He applied for

transfer of his enrolment to the State of Rajasthan which

was permitted by the Bar Council of India on 27th May, 1989.

The Bar Council           of Rajasthan received a complaint

that  the  Appellant’s  enrolment  in  the  State  of  Himachal

Pradesh was obtained by suppression of facts and relevant

material. The enrolment of the Appellant was cancelled on

6th November, 1995 by the Bar Council of India.           The

said order was affirmed by this Court as the Special Leave

Petition filed by the Appellant was dismissed on 5 th August,

1996.

2. Thereafter, the Appellant applied for enrolment as an

advocate seeking exemption from training of  one year  in

view  of  his  experience  as  an  advocate  earlier.   He

approached the High Court of Rajasthan seeking a direction

to the Bar Council of Rajasthan to decide his application for

exemption  from  training.   The  said  Writ  Petition  was

dismissed  by  a  learned  Single  Judge  by  holding  that  the

Appellant was not entitled for enrolment. In the Appeal filed

against  the said  judgment of  the learned Single  Judge,  a

Division  Bench  directed  the  Bar  Council  of  Rajasthan  to

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consider the application filed by the Appellant without being

influenced by the observations made by the learned Single

Judge.  

3. The Bar Council of Rajasthan dismissed the application

of the Appellant  for  enrolment on 16th January,  2000 and

referred the matter for confirmation of the Bar Council  of

India.                          The Bar Council of India confirmed the

order  passed  by  the  Bar  Council  of  Rajasthan  on  16th

January, 2000.   

4. The  Appellant  filed  yet  another  application  for

enrolment  as  an  advocate  before  the  Bar  Council  of

Rajasthan which was rejected on 29th June, 2003.  The Bar

Council of India confirmed the order of 29th June, 2003 by its

resolution dated 3rd January, 2004.   

5. The Appellant made another attempt for enrolment by

filing  an  application  before  the  Bar  Council  of  Rajasthan.

Initially, the said application was rejected on the ground that

the Appellant cannot be admitted as an advocate since he

has crossed the age of 45 years in view of Rule 1-A of the

Enrollment  Rules,  Bar  Council  of  Rajasthan  framed  under

Section  28  (1)  (d)  read  with  Section  24  (1)  (e)  of  the

Advocates Act, 1961.  The said Rule was struck down by the

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High  Court  of  Rajasthan  by  judgment  dated  19th August,

2008.   Taking  into  account  the  earlier  order  dated  16th

January, 2000 by which the application for enrolment filed

by  Appellant  was  rejected,  the  Bar  Council  of  Rajasthan

refused to enroll the Appellant as an advocate by the order

dated 14th July, 2012.              The order dated 14th July,

2012 of the Bar Council of Rajasthan was affirmed by the

Bar Council of India on 15th September, 2012. 6. C.A. 294 of 2007 is filed by the Appellant challenging

the order dated 29.06.2003 of the Bar Council of Rajasthan

and the consequential orders dated 02.01.2004 of the Bar

Council of India and the order dated 18.03.2004 of the Bar

Council of Rajasthan. The legality of the orders dated 14th

July, 2012 of the Bar Council of Rajasthan affirmed by the

Bar Council of India on                              15 th September,

2012 is subject matter of Special Leave Petitions (Civil)… CC

Nos. 10531-10532 of 2013.    

7. The Appellant is  a  qualified medical  doctor who was

appointed  as  a  Medical  Officer  on  contract  basis  by  the

Government of Himachal Pradesh.  In the affidavit filed in

Special  Leave  Petitions  (Civil)..CC  Nos.  10531-10532  of

2013,                        the Appellant stated that a FIR

registered against him at Police Station Dhambola on 15th

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April, 1988.  He was arrested and sent to judicial custody.

He further stated that he was absent from service without

obtaining  leave  for  which  reason  his  services  were

terminated by the Director.  The Appellant has also referred

to  his  conviction  under  Section  419  of  the  Indian  Penal

Code, 1860 by the Judicial Magistrate on 7th January, 1988.

He  has  also  filed  the  judgment  of  the  Sessions  Judge,

Dungarpur,  Rajasthan  by  which  his  appeal  against  the

conviction  under  Section  419  IPC  was  allowed.   The

suppression that was alleged against the Appellant at the

time of seeking enrolment in the Bar Council  of Himachal

Pradesh pertains to his being in Government service in the

State of Himachal Pradesh and his involvement in a criminal

case.  Subsequent acquittal cannot come to the rescue of

the  Appellant.   Section  26  of  the  Advocates  Act,  1961

confers power on the Bar  Council  of  India to  remove the

name of a person who entered on the Roll of Advocates by

misrepresentation.  It is in exercise of this power that the

enrollment of the Appellant was cancelled.             The first

order  that  was  passed  by  the  Bar  Council  cancelling  his

enrolment  as  an  advocate  was  confirmed  by  this  Court.

The repeated attempts made by the Appellant later amount

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to  an  abuse  of  process.   The  Appellant  would  be  better

advised not to indulge in pursuing the matter pertaining to

his  enrollment  as  Advocate.  The  orders  impugned  in  the

Appeals do not suffer from any infirmity and are upheld.   8. The Appeals are dismissed accordingly.      

             ..................................J.               [ L.  NAGESWARA  RAO ]

 ..................................J.               [ M.R. SHAH]

New Delhi, March 01,  2019.

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