Professional conduct and Etiquette of Advocates — Duty of Advocate towards Court and client.

In a criminal matter an accused was remanded to police custody. When the order of the police remand was not found favourable, his advocate started hurling abuses and detrogatory remarks against the Magistrate. The advocate uttered unparliamentarily words and also threatened the Magistrate with dire consequences. The Magistrate requested fellow advocates who were called, also abused the Magistrate and wanted to assault him physically.

The High Court initiated contempt proceedings. The High Court found the advocates guilty of criminal contempt and convicted them u/s. 12 r.w.s. 15 of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971. On appeal, the Supreme Court accepted the unconditional apology and discharged the contemnors.

The Court observed that a Court, be that of a Magistrate or the Supreme Court, is sacrosanct. The integrity and sanctity of an institution which has bestowed upon itself the responsibility of dispensing justice is ought to be maintained. All the functionaries, be it advocates, Judges and the rest of the staff, ought to act in accordance with morals and ethics.

An advocate’s duty is as important as that of a Judge. Advocates have a large responsibility towards the society. A client’s relationship with his/her advocate is underlined by utmost trust. An advocate is expected to act with utmost sincerity and respect. In all professional functions, an advocate should be diligent and his conduct should also be diligent and should conform to the requirements of law by which an advocate plays a vital role in preservation of society and justice system. An advocate is under an obligation to uphold the rule of law and ensure that the public justice system is enabled to function at its full potential. Any violation of the principles of professional ethics by an advocate is unfortunate and unacceptable. Ignoring even a minor violation/ misconduct militates against the fundamental foundation of the public justice system. An advocate should be dignified in his dealings to the Court, to his fellow lawyers and to the litigants. He should have integrity in abundance and should never do anything that erodes his credibility. An advocate has a duty to enlighten and encourage the juniors in the profession. An ideal advocate should believe that the legal profession has an element of service also and associates with legal service activities. Most importantly, he should faithfully abide by the standards of professional conduct and etiquette prescribed by the Bar Council of India in Chapter II, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules.

As a rule, an advocate being a member of the legal profession has a social duty to show the people a beacon of light by his conduct and actions rather than being adamant on an unwarranted and uncalled for issue.

Compilers Comment — The ratio is equally applicable to other professionals.