Bid to bribe Judge: BCI finds lawyer guilty

MUMBAI, AUG. 9. The Bar Council of India has found a lawyer guilty of professional misconduct for inducing his client to supply two bottles of foreign liquor and Rs. 40,000 as bribe to a judge to obtain a favourable verdict.

Upholding the Maharashtra Bar Council's decision to reprimand lawyer Avadesh Nathani, the apex body of the lawyers recently issued him a notice to show cause why punishment should not be enhanced.

The ruling was delivered by a three-member disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India which dismissed an appeal filed by the aggrieved advocate against the order of the State Bar Council.

On January 29 last year, the State Bar Council had found the lawyer guilty of professional misconduct under Section 35 of the Advocates Act and decided to reprimand him. He filed an appeal before the Bar Council of India.

The Bar Council of India felt that the State Bar Council had taken a lenient view of the lawyer's conduct by simply reprimanding him and issued a notice asking the appellant why the punishment should not be enhanced.

The case pertained to one Mr. O. J. Coelho, employed as sales manager with a company. He sought voluntary retirement but the company dismissed him from service. Being aggrieved, he decided to file a case in an industrial court. In 1996, he sought the services of advocate Nathani to recover Rs. 1.81 lakh dues from the company.

Acting on the instructions of the lawyer, the complainant deposited a sum of Rs. 7,500 on March 7, 1996. Within a week, another sum of Rs. 7,500 was demanded by the lawyer. This too was paid.

Thereafter the lawyer sent a legal notice to the company and demanded Rs. 5,000 from the complainant. This amount was also paid to the advocate. A complaint was then filed in the industrial court, the Bar Council of India was informed.

As the case progressed, Nathani sought adjournments from time to time since July 1996 for a year. When the matter came up for final hearing, the advocate allegedly demanded two bottles of ``Blue Label'' whisky to be offered to the judge as bribe for obtaining a favourable order.

The complainant alleged that he was also induced to pay Rs. 40,000 for allegedly offering bribe to the judge. Finally, the complainant learnt that his case had been dismissed. He was told by Nathani that the company's advocate had paid Rs. 1 lakh to the judge to obtain a favourable order.

- PTI

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