Professional misconduct by advocate explained.

Srinivasan, J.

When this matter was called yesterday, no advocate appeared for the petitioner. The petitioner’s representative was present in court and he represented that the Advocates were boycotting the court. We directed the matter to be posted to-day for dismissal.

2. When the matter is called to-day, senior counsel, represented that he wanted to avoid unruly scenes in the court and so, he abstained from court. If that is so, it is very unfortunate for the entire Administration of Justice.

3. In our opinion, it is hardly a satisfactory explanation for remaining absent from court. If a few advocates decide to boycott the courts, it is not necessary for the others to follow suit. They ought to have attended the court and if they had been prevented from carrying out their duties within the court, stern action would have been taken by the court against such persons.

4. It is high time that the members of the noble profession realised their responsibilities and in particular their paramount duty to their respective clients. We notice with anguish that boycotting courts has become a regular feature in this State and almost throughout the year, one section or the other of the members of the Bar abstain from courts. It is with a ching heart, we find that the advocates declare and proclaim solidarity only in the matter of boycotting courts though not in other matters in which solidarity is necessary. In fact in Common Cause. A registered Society v. Union of India, (1995)2 M.L.J. (S.C.) 1: (1995)1 L.W. 8, the Supreme Court has ruled that even if an association decides to abstain from court for a just cause, the individual members of that association are free to appear without let, fear or hindrance or any other coercive step.

5. In the matter of Mr. ‘P’ an advocate, A.I.R. 1963 S.C. 1313: (1963)2 Crl. L.J. 341: (1963)2 S.C.J. 708, the court said that a wilful and callous disregard for the interests of the client may, in a proper case, be characterised as conduct unbefitting an advocate. In

P.D. Khandekar v. Bar Council of Maharashtra, A.I.R. 1984 S.C. 110: (1984)2 S.C.C. 556: 1984 S.C.C. (Crl.) 335, the Supreme Court said that ‘an advocate stands in loco parentis towards the litigants’ and that counsel’s paramount duty is to the client. The court observed:

“For an advocate to act towards his client otherwise than with utmost good faith is unprofessional. When an advocate is entrusted with a brief, he is expected to follow norms of professional ethics and try to protect the interests of his client in relation to whom he occupies a position of trust.”

.6. In S.J. Chaudhary v. State, A.I.R. 1984 S.C. 618: 1984 Crl.LJ. 340: (1984)1 S. C C. 722, the court held that an advocate accepting brief in a criminal case must attend trial from day-to-day and if he fails so to attend, he will be committing breach of his professional duty. In Salil Dutta v. T.M. and M.C. Private Limited, (1993)2S.C.C. 185, the Supreme Court held that the advocate is the agent of the party. In J.S. Jadhav v. Mustafa Haji Mohaammed Yusuf A.I.R. 1993 S.C. 1535, the court quoted the following passage in its earlier judgment in Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dadholkar, A.I.R. 1975 S.C. 2092:

.“The Bar is not a private guild, like that of barbers, butchers and candlestick-makers, but, by bold contrast, a public institution committed to public justice and pro bono publico service. The grant of a monopoly licence to practice law is based on three assumptions: (1) There is a socially useful function for the lawyer to perform, (2) The lawyer is a professional person who will perform that function, and (3) His performance as a professional person is regulated by himself and more formally, by the profession as a whole. The central function that the legal profession must perform is nothing less than the administration of justice (”The Practice of Law is a Public Utility “ -” The Lawyer, the Public and Professional Responsibility “ by F. Ramond Marks et al -