Supreme Court upholds lawyer's suspension for making scandalous allegations against woman; slaps ₹1 lakh costs

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea filed by an advocate challenging his suspension from practice by the Bar Council of India (BCI) which had found him guilty of professional misconduct [Manoj Kumar Sharma vs. Priyanka Bansal].

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi not only affirmed the three-year suspension but also imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on him and directed recovery of costs from his properties.

The Court was dealing with an appeal filed by advocate Manoj Kumar Sharma against a December 2023 order of the BCI which had held him guilty of misconduct and suspended his licence for three years.

The Supreme Court noted that Sharma had made repeated scandalous allegations against the complainant Priyanka Bansal, leaving no scope for leniency.

“Having regard to the serious misconduct carried out by the appellant-advocate, who appears to be an obstinate character in making scandalous allegations against the respondent-complainant, we do not want to take any lenient view,” the bench said.

Dismissing the appeal, the Court imposed costs of ₹1 lakh, payable to Bansal as compensation. It directed the District Collector of Agra to attach Sharma’s properties to ensure recovery within three months.

The Court further restrained the Bar Council from renewing Sharma’s licence without the Court's prior permission.

“It is further directed that after the appellant undergoes the sentence already awarded to him, a Report in that regard shall be supplied to the Secretary General of this Court,” it noted.

The appellant-advocate was represented by Senior Advocate IM Quddusi along with advocates Jabar Singh, Kanti Tiwari, Jazib Siddiqui, Sameer Siddiqui, Vaibhav Sharma and V Maheshwari & Co.

The respondent was represented by advocates Akshay Kumar, Mrgank Kumar, Apurva Singhal, Ajeet Yadav and Anil Kumar.

[Read Order]