The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (10th March, 2021) comprising of a bench of Justice R Narayana Pisharadi made a series of crucial statements on the status and duties of lawyers vis-a-vis their clients and the administration of justice in general. (C.R.Jaison vs. Jolly Stephen & Ors.)
The Bench culling the principles from case law said,
"When a lawyer is entrusted with a brief, he is expected to follow the norms of professional ethics and try to protect the interests of his clients, in relation to whom he occupies a position of trust"
Iterating a lawyer's nodal role in the administration of justice, the Court said,
"In the administration of law and justice, lawyers have to play an important part. They are, in a sense, officers of the court and as such they are given special rights and privileges..."
The Court's made this remark while dismissing a lawyer's petition seeking a quash of criminal breach of trust proceedings against him.
Facts of the case.
The lawyer was a legal officer in M/s Cherupushpam Kuries (a kind of chit fund) and was tasked with instituting recovery proceedings on amounts owed by its members. The company alleged that he misappropriated funds demarcated for instituting suits and provided false suit numbers to the company as if he had instituted the suits.
Contention of the parties
Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submitted that, the petitioner was defrauded by his clerk and when the petitioner detected the fraud committed by the clerk, he
instituted the suits and no loss was caused to the company. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there was no dishonest intention on the part of the petitioner.
Courts Observation and judgment
The bench however, held that the veracity of the petitioner's submissions could be decided only at trial and not in a quash proceeding. For the proceedings at hand, there seemed a prima facie case disclosed, the Court concluded,
Since the petitioner in the case was a lawyer, the Court used the occasion to make the following observations about lawyers and their duties towards the law and clients:
In the administration of law and justice, lawyers have to play an important part. They are, in a sense, officers of the court and as such they are given special rights and privileges. The profession of law enjoys high and respected status and reputation of its own and this status carries with it corresponding obligations. Naturally they must zealously safeguard the highest standards of professional morality and integrity. (Manak Lal v. Dr. Prem Chand: AIR 1957 SC 425)
Law is a noble profession. The monopoly conferred on the legal profession by Parliament is coupled with a responsibility towards the clients. Nothing should be done by any member of the legal fraternity which might tend to lessen in any degree the confidence of the public in the fidelity, honesty and integrity of the profession. (V.C. Rangadurai v. D.Gopalan: AIR 1979 SC 281)
When a lawyer is entrusted with a brief, he is expected to follow the norms of professional ethics and try to protect the interests of his clients, in relation to whom he occupies a position of trust. (Jaipur Vikas Pradhikaran v. Sri Ashok Kumar Choudhary : (2011) 14 SCC 105)
With these observations, the Court dismissed the petition.
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