ARMY INSTITUTE OF LAW

LEGAL ETHICS

DUTIES OF ADVOCATE TOWARDS COURT

(Submitted in partial fulfilment of 5 years integrated B.A.LLB degree)

SUBMITTED BY:

TULIP JOSHI

1405
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 INDEX
SNO. TOPIC PG.NO.
1 INTRODUCTION 3
2 RULES GOVERNING CONDUCT OF ADVOCATES 4
3 DUTIES OF ADVOCATE TOWARDS COURT: 4
1. ACT IN A DIGNIFIED MANNER
2. RESPECT THE COURT
3. NOT COMMUNICATE IN PRIVATE
4. REFUSE TO ACT IN AN ILLEGAL MANNER
TOWARDS THE OPPOSITION

5. REFUSE TO REPRESENT CLIENTS WHO INSIST

ON UNFAIR MEANS

6. APPEAR IN PROPER DRESS CODE

7. REFUSE TO APPEAR IN FRONT OF RELATIONS
8. NOT TO WEAR BANDS OR GOWNS IN PUBLIC
PLACES

9. NOT REPRESENT ESTABLISHMENTS OF

WHICH HE IS A MEMBER

10. NOT APPEAR IN MATTERS OF PECUNIARY

INTEREST

11. NOT STAND AS SURETY FOR CLIENT

4 INDIAN COURTS ON DUTIES OF ADVOCATE TOWARDS 6
COURT
5 CONCLUSION 10
6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 11

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 INTRODUCTION
A lawyer's duty to the court is a fundamental obligation that defines a lawyer's role within the
adversarial system. However, a lawyer's duties are not carried out in a vacuum. While facing
financial and competitive pressures, lawyers must fulfill and balance their duties to the client,
opposing counsel, the administration of justice and society.1
Legal profession is not a trade or business. It is a noble profession. Members belonging to this
profession have not to encourage dishonesty and corruption but have to strive to secure justice
to their clients if it is legally possible.
In R.D. Saxena vs. Balram Prasad Sharma2, the Supreme Court held as under:

"In our country, admittedly, a social duty is cast upon the legal profession to show the people
beckon (sic beacon) light by their conduct and actions. The poor, uneducated and exploited
mass of the people need a helping hand from the legal profession, admittedly, acknowledged
as a most respectable profession. No effort should be made or allowed to be made by which a
litigant could be deprived of his rights, statutory as well as constitutional, by an advocate only
on account of the exalted position conferred upon him under the judicial system prevalent in
the country........"

The credibility and reputation of the profession depends upon the manner in which the
members of the profession conduct themselves3. There is heavy responsibility on those on
whom duty has been vested under the Advocates Act, 1961 to take disciplinary action when
the credibility and reputation of the profession comes under a clout on account of acts of
omission and commission by any member of the profession.
Advocates, in addition to being professionals, are also officers of the courts and play a vital
role in the administration of justice.
RULES GOVERNING CONDUCT OF ADVOCATES
The set of rules that govern their professional conduct arise out of the duty that they owe the
1. The court,
2. The client,
3. Their opponents and
4. Other advocates.

1
Furlong, Jordan ,Professionalism Revived: Diagnosing the Failure of Professionalism among Lawyers and
Finding a Cure, (March 25th , 2018) at 2.
2
(2000) 7 SCC 264.
3
Shambhu Ram Yadav vs Hanum Das Khatry, (1955) 1 SCR 757.

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Rules on the professional standards that an advocate needs to maintain are mentioned in
Chapter II, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules. These rules have been placed there under
section 49(1)(c) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
RULES ON AN ADVOCATE’S DUTY TOWARDS THE COURT
1. Act in a dignified manner

During the presentation of his case and also while acting before a court, an advocate should act
in a dignified manner. He should at all times conduct himself with self-respect. However,
whenever there is proper ground for serious complaint against a judicial officer, the advocate
has a right and duty to submit his grievance to proper authorities.

2. Respect the court

An advocate should always show respect towards the court. An advocate has to bear in mind
that the dignity and respect maintained towards judicial office is essential for the survival of a
free community.4

In Mahabir Prasad Singh vs. Jacks Aviation Pvt. Ltd., 5this Court held that it is the solemn
duty of every Court to proceed with judicial function during Court hours and no Court should
yield to pressure tactics or boycott calls or any kind of browbeating by the advocate. The Bench
as well as the Bar has to avoid unwarranted situations or trivial issues that hamper the cause of
justice and are in the interest of none.

3. Not communicate in private

An advocate should not communicate in private to a judge with regard to any matter pending
before the judge or any other judge. An advocate should not influence the decision of a court
in any matter using illegal or improper means such as coercion, bribe etc6.

4. Refuse to act in an illegal manner towards the opposition

An advocate should refuse to act in an illegal or improper manner towards the opposing counsel
or the opposing parties. He shall also use his best efforts to restrain and prevent his client from

4
Mohit Sharma, Role of Lawyers, LIVE LAW ( Mar. 26, 2018, 5 pm) http://www.livelaw.in/role-lawyers-rule-
law/
5
(1999) 1 SCC 37.
6
DR. S.R. MYNENI , Professional Ethics', Accountancy for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relation, 78 (Asian Law
House, ,2014).

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acting in any illegal, improper manner or use unfair practices in any mater towards the
judiciary, opposing counsel or the opposing parties.7

5. Refuse to represent clients who insist on unfair means

An advocate shall refuse to represent any client who insists on using unfair or improper means.
An advocate shall excise his own judgment in such matters. He shall not blindly follow the
instructions of the client. He shall be dignified in use of his language in correspondence and
during arguments in court. He shall not scandalously damage the reputation of the parties on
false grounds during pleadings. He shall not use unparliamentary language during arguments
in the court.8

6. Appear in proper dress code

An advocate should appear in court at all times only in the dress prescribed under the Bar
Council of India Rules and his appearance should always be presentable.

7. Refuse to appear in front of relations

An advocate should not enter appearance, act, plead or practice in any way before a judicial
authority if the sole or any member of the bench is related to the advocate as father, grandfather,
son, grandson, uncle, brother, nephew, first cousin, husband, wife, mother, daughter, sister,
aunt, niece, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law daughter-in-law or sister-
in-law.9

8. Not to wear bands or gowns in public places

An advocate should not wear bands or gowns in public places other than in courts, except on
such ceremonial occasions and at such places as the Bar Council of India or as the court may
prescribe.

9. Not represent establishments of which he is a member

7
Ramanuj, Right of a lawyer to practice in India and duties of a lawyer, IPLEADERS ( Mar. 19, 2018, 10 Pm)
https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-of-a-lawyer-to-practice-in-india-and-duties-of-a-lawyer/
8
Deep Shikha Singh, Role of Advocates in Implementation of Legal Aid Schemes, LEGAL SERVICES INDIA (Mar.
28, 2018 8 pm) http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l396-Role-Of-Advocates-In-Implementation-of-Legal-
Aid-Schemes.html
9
DR. S.R. MYNENI , Professional Ethics', Accountancy for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relation, 79-82 (Asian Law
House, ,2014).

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An advocate should not appear in or before any judicial authority, for or against any
establishment if he is a member of the management of the establishment. This rule does not
apply to a member appearing as “amicus curiae” or without a fee on behalf of the Bar Council,
Incorporated Law Society or a Bar Association.10

10. Not appear in matters of pecuniary interest

An advocate should not act or plead in any matter in which he has financial interests. For
instance, he should not act in a bankruptcy petition when he is also a creditor of the bankrupt.
He should also not accept a brief from a company of which he is a Director11.

11. Not stand as surety for client

An advocate should not stand as a surety, or certify the soundness of a surety that his client
requires for the purpose of any legal proceedings.

INDIAN COURTS ON DUTY OF ADVOCATES TOWARDS COURT

In O.P.Sharma & Ors vs High Court Of Punjab & Haryana12 The Supreme Court had the
occasion to examine the rules regarding Professional Conduct and etiquettes of advocates. The
case in hand dealt with the contemptuous conduct of advocates before a magistrate, which
resulted in suo moto initiation of contempt proceedings by the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court where the court has brought a quietus to the
proceedings by accepting the unconditional apologies on behalf of the advocates. However, in
doing so, the Supreme Court has culled out the principles regarding duties and conduct of
advocates. The relevant extracts from the judgment are reproduced herein below.

“In the light of the above scenario, before considering the fresh affidavits filed before this Court
by the appellants- Advocates, let us recapitulate various earlier orders of this Court as to the
duties of lawyer towards the Court and the Society being a member of the legal profession. The
role and status of lawyers at the beginning of Sovereign and Democratic India is accounted as
extremely vital in deciding that the Nation's administration was to be governed by the Rule of
Law. They were considered intellectuals amongst the elites of the country and social activists
amongst the downtrodden. These include the names of galaxy of lawyers like Mahatma Gandhi,

10
MacKenzie Gavin, The ethics of advocacy, THE ADVOCATES' SOCIETY JOURNAL (Sept, 2008) at 26-7
11
See,Pagone, G.T. The Advocate's Duty to the Court in Adversarial Proceedings ,MELBOURNE, 543, 556-7.
12
(2011) 6 SCC 86.

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Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. Rajendra Prasad
and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, to name a few. The role of lawyers in the framing of the Constitution
needs no special mention. In a profession with such a vivid history it is regretful, to say the
least, to witness instances of the nature of the present kind. Lawyers are the officers of the
Court in the administration of justice.”

The Supreme Court observed in D.C. Saxena vs. The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India13 that
Advocacy touches and asserts the primary value of freedom of expression. It is a practical
manifestation of the principle of freedom of speech. Freedom of expression in arguments
encourages the development of judicial dignity, forensic skills of advocacy and enables
protection of fraternity, equality and justice. It plays its part in helping to secure the protection
or other fundamental human rights, freedom of expression, therefore, is one of the basic
conditions for the progress of advocacy and for the development of every man including legal
fraternity practising the profession of law. Freedom of expression, therefore, is vital to the
maintenance of free society. It is essential to the rule of law and liberty of the citizens. The
advocate or the party appearing in person, therefore, is given liberty of expression. But they
equally owe countervailing duty to maintain dignity, decorum and order in the court
proceedings or judicial processes. Any adverse opinion about the judiciary should only be
expressed in a detached manner and respectful language. The liberty of free expression is not
to be confounded or confused with licence to make unfounded allegations against any
institution, much less the judiciary

In Lalit Mohan Das vs. Advocate General, Orissa & Another14 the Supreme Court observed
as under: "A member of the Bar undoubtedly owes a duty to his client and must place before
the Court all that can fairly and reasonably be submitted on behalf of his client. He may even
submit that a particular order is not correct and may ask for a review of that order. At the same
time, a member of the Bar is an officer of the Court and owes a duty to the Court in which he
is appearing. He must uphold the dignity and decorum of the Court and must not do anything
to bring the Court itself into disrepute. The appellant before us grossly overstepped the limits
of propriety when he made imputations of partiality and unfairness against the Munsif in open
Court. In suggesting that the Munsif followed no principle in his orders, the appellant was
adding insult to injury, because the Munsif had merely upheld an order of his predecessor on

13
(1996) 5 SCC 216.
14
AIR 1957 SC 250.

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the preliminary point of jurisdiction and Court fees, which order had been upheld by the High
Court in revision. Scandalizing the Court in such manner is really polluting the very fount of
justice; such conduct as the appellant indulged in was not a matter between an individual
member of the Bar and a member of the judicial service; if brought into disrepute the whole
administration of justice."

M.Y. Shareef & Anr. Vs. Hon'ble Judges of Nagpur High Court & Ors.,15 A lawyer cannot
be a mere mouthpiece of his client and cannot associate himself with his client in maligning
the reputation of judicial officer merely because his client failed to secure the desired order
from the said officer. A deliberate attempt to scandalize the Court which would shake the
confidence of the litigating public in the system and would cause a very serious damage to the
name of the judiciary.;

In the case of Shambhu Ram Yadav vs Hanum Das Khatry16A complaint was filed by the
appellant against the respondent, Advocate before Bar Council of Rajasthan which was referred
to Disciplinary Committee constituted by the State Bar Council. In substance, the complaint
was that respondent while appearing as a counsel in a suit pending in a civil court wrote a letter
to Mahant Rajgiri his client inter alia stating that his another client has told him that the
concerned judge accepts bribe and he has obtained several favourable orders from him in his
favour; if he can influence the judge through some other gentleman, then it is different thing,
otherwise he should send to him a sum of Rs.10,000/- so that through the said client the suit is
got decided in his (Mahant Rajgiri) favour. The letter further stated that if Mahant can
personally win over the judge on his side then there is no need to spend money. This letter is
not disputed. In reply to complaint, respondent pleaded that the services of the Presiding Judge
were terminated on account of illegal gratification and he had followed the norms of
professional ethics and brought these facts to the knowledge of his client to protect his interest
and the money was not sent by his client to him.

Members of the legal profession are officers of the court. Besides courts, they also owe a duty
to the society which has a vital public interest in the due administration of justice. The said
public interest is required to be protected by those on whom the power has been entrusted to
take disciplinary action. The disciplinary bodies are guardians of the due administration of
justice. They have requisite power and rather a duty while supervising the conduct of the

15
(1955) 1 SCR 757; Shamsher Singh Bedi vs. High Court of Punjab & Haryana, (1996) 7 SCC 99 .
16
( 2001 )6 SCC 1

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members of the legal profession, to inflict appropriate penalty when members are found to be
guilty of misconduct. Considering the nature of the misconduct, the penalty of permanent
debarment had been imposed on the respondent which without any valid ground has been
modified in exercise of power of review.17 It is the duty of the bar councils to ensure that
lawyers adhere to the required standards and on failure, to take appropriate action against them.

In the case of Indian Council Of Legal Aid & ... vs Bar Council Of India & Anr 18 the supreme
Court held that-It is generally believed that members of the legal profession have certain social
obligations;, e.g,to render 'probono publico' service to the poor and the under privileged. Since
the duty of a lawyer is to assist the court in the ad-ministration of justice the practise of law has
a public utility flavour and, therefore, he must strictly and scrupulously abide by the Code of
Conduct behaving the noble profession and must not indulge in any activity which may tend to
lower the image of the profession in society the profession of law being a pious and honourable
profession, its main object being service of mankind by serving the system of administration
of justice, it is the pious duty of the Bar Council to protect its public image by restricting the
inflow of a large number of retired personnel who seek to enter a legal profession solely for
additional gains. Such persons are not inspired by softly ideals of the profession but their only
motive is moneymaking for which they prepared to stoop to any levels which has a very
negative influence on young minds who join the profession after graduation.

The Bar Councils are rejoined with the duty to act as sentinels of professional conduct and
must ensure that the dignity and purity of the profession are in no way undermined. Its job is
to uphold the standards of professional conduct and etiquette. Thus every State Bar Council of
India has a public duty to perform, namely, to ensure that the monopoly of practise granted
under the Act is not misused or abused by a person who is enrolled as an advocate. The Bar
Councils have been created at the State level as well as the Central level not only to protect the
rights, interests and privileges of its members but also to protect the litigating public by
ensuring that high and noble traditions are maintained so that the purity and dignity of the
profession arc not jeopardized.

17
KAILASH RAI, Legal Ethics Accountability for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relations , (Central Law
Publication,2015).
18
1995 SCC (1) 732.

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In Sukhpal singh v Kalyan Singh19 the Court had held that in the absence of proper assistance
to the Court by the Lawyer, there is no obligation on part of the court to decide the case, for
the simple reason that unless the lawyer renders the proper assistance to the court, the court is
not able to decide the case. It is not itself on the court to decide the controversy. The counsel
cannot just raise the issue in his petition and leave it to the court to give its decision on those
points after going through record and determining correctness thereof.

It was held in D.P. Chadha v Triyugi Narain Mishra & Ors20 A point of law well settled or
admitting of no controversy must not be dragged into doubt solely with a view to confuse or
mislead the Judge and thereby gaining an undue advantage to the client to which he may not
be entitled. Such conduct of an advocate becomes worse when a view of the law canvassed by
him is not only unsupportable in law but if accepted would damage the interest of the client
and confer an illegitimate advantage on the opponent. In such a situation the wrong of the
intention and impropriety of the conduct is more than apparent. Professional misconduct is
grave when it consists of betraying the confidence of a client and is gravest when it is a
deliberate attempt at misleading the court or an attempt at practising deception or fraud on the
court. The client places his faith and fortune in the hands of the counsel for the purpose of that
case; the court places its confidence in the counsel in case after case and day after day. A client
dissatisfied with his counsel may change him but the same is not with the court. And so the
bondage of trust between the court and the counsel admits of no breaking.

Mutual confidence in the discharge of duties and cordial relations between Bench and Bar
smoothen the movement of chariot. As a responsible officer of the court, as they are called
and rightly, the counsel have an overall obligation of assisting the courts in a just and proper
manner.

CONCLUSION:

Therefore, broadly the duty of the advocate towards the court is to be respectful toward the
court, to assist in administration of justice and to uphold its dignity and conduct himself
honestly.

19
AIR 1963 SC 146.
20
AIR 2001 SC 457.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS REFERRED TO,`

YASHOMATI GHOSH, Legal Ethics And The Profession Of Law, Lexisnexis, (1st Ed., 2014).
KAILASH RAI, Legal Ethics Accountability for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relations ,Central
Law Publication, (2015).
DR. S.R. MYNENI , Professional Ethics', Accountancy for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relation
Asian Law House, (2014).
ONLINE WEBSITES AND ARTICLES REFERRED TO,

 Furlong, Jordan ,Professionalism Revived: Diagnosing the Failure of Professionalism

among Lawyers and Finding a Cure, (March 25th , 2018) at 2.
 Mohit Sharma, Role of Lawyers, LIVE LAW ( Mar. 26, 2018, 5 pm)
http://www.livelaw.in/role-lawyers-rule-law/
 Ramanuj, Right of a lawyer to practice in India and duties of a lawyer, IPLEADERS (
Mar. 19, 2018, 10 Pm) https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-of-a-lawyer-to-practice-in-india-
and-duties-of-a-lawyer/
 Deep Shikha Singh, Role of Advocates in Implementation of Legal Aid Schemes,
LEGAL SERVICES INDIA (Mar. 28, 2018 8 pm)
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l396-Role-Of-Advocates-In-
Implementation-of-Legal-Aid-Schemes.html
 MacKenzie, Gavin "The ethics of advocacy", The Advocates' Society Journal
(September, 2008) at 26
 See,Pagone, G.T. The Advocate's Duty to the Court in Adversarial Proceedings
,Melbourne, 543, 556 7.
ONLINE DATABASES REFERRED TO,

www.scconline.com
www.manupatra.com

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