Bablal v.Subash Jain BCI TR Case No.115/1986
The complainant and the Respondent are Advocates. The complainant filed a petition before the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council stating that the respondent to guilty of professional misconduct under
s.35. The allegation of the complainant is that the respondent a practicing lawyer, is working as an Editor , Printer and Publisher of a weekly called ``Aaj Ki Janta’’ He is the owner of the press which prints the weekly. It is also alleged that the respondent did not disclose these facts while applying for enrolment to the State Bar Council. The respondent denied all the allegations. He contended that before enrolment, the job of printing and publishing was transferred to his wife and thereafter he was working only as an editor of the said weekly.
Since the enquiry was not completed within one year, the case was transferred to the Bar Council of India.
In the enquiry it was found that he enrolled in 1973 and continued as the printer, publisher and editor of the weekly till 1983. Only in 1983 printing and publishing was transferred in the name of his wife. But, by a general power of attorney from his wife the respondent was looking after the entire work of the weekly. Based on this findings the Bar Council of India held that the respondent is guilty of professional misconduct punishable under S.35 of the Advocates Act and passed the following orders.
1. He was suspended from practice for a period of one year.
2. Suppression of the fact that he is the owner of the weekly in the enrolment application cannot be treated as professional misconduct punishable under S.35.