Civil Appeals Nos 1461 to 1468 of 1 974
From the Judgment and order dated the 14th April 1974 of the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India New Delhi
in C Appeals Nos 15 to 19 21 22 and 25 of 1973 respectively
H V section Desai Vimal Dave and Kailash Mehta for the appellant in all the appeals
309 M V Dabolkar for the respondent In C A No 146174
Z F Bootwala and Urmila Sirur for the respondent In C A Nos 1462 6474 
V N Ganpule and V H Dixit for the respondent In C A No 146574
K G Mandalia for the respondent In C A No 146674
E Udayarathallam and A K Doshi for the respondent In CA No 1467 74
D K Raisinghani for the respondent In CA No 146874
K K Sinha and section K Sinha for the Bihar State Bar Council
D V Patil and K Hingorani for the Bar Council of India
The Judgment of A N RAY CJ H R KHANNA K K MATHEW A C GUPTA AND section M FAZAL ALl was delivered by A N RAY CJ M BEG and V R KRISHNA IYER JJ
gave separate opinions
RAY CJ
These appeals were placed before this Bench for consideration of the question whether the Bar Council of a State is a person aggrieved to maintain an appeal under section 38 of the hereinafter called the Act
The Bar Council of Maharashtra on 8 August 1964 considered a complaint received from the High Court against the respondents and resolved that the complaint received from the High Court against the respondents be referred to the disciplinary committee
Another resolution was passed by the Bar Council of Maharashtra on the same day whereby Messrs Hotchand Advani R W Adik and section C Chagla were elected as members of the disciplinary committee to enquire into the complaints
The aforesaid disciplinary committee met on 19 March 1965 and heard the advocates for the Bar Council of the State of Maharashtra
After considering the papers placed before the committee it directed the Registrar to issue notices under section 352 of the Act to the parties concerned including the Advocate General
The committee also expressed the opinion that there is a prima facie case of professional misconduct
The Bar Council of Maharashtra on 18 May 1965 issued notices under section 35 of the Act to the respondents
The notice was described as a suo motu inquiry against the respondents
The notice proceeded with the recital that it came to the notice of the Bar Council of Maharashtra that the respondents stood at the entrance of the Court House at the Presidency Magistrate s Court Esplanade Fort Bombay and solicited work and generally behaved at that place in an undignified manner and the said acts amounted to professional andor other misconduct and the Bar Council constituted disciplinary committee and the inquiry was entrusted to the committee consisting of Messrs H G Advani R W Adik and section C Chagla
310 The said disciplinary committee heard evidence upto 31 August 1968
On 14 June 1969 the Bar Council of Maharashtra passed a resolution requesting the aforesaid disciplinary committee to proceed with the inquiry which was pending before them prior to 31 March 1969
The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Maharashtra on 27 June 1973 found the respondents guilty of conduct which seriously lowered the reputation of the Bar in the eyes of the public
The disciplinary committee directed that the respondents would stand suspended from practising as advocates for a period of three years
The suspension orders were to be operative from 1 August 1973
The respondents preferred appeals before the Bar Council of India
In these appeals the respondents impleaded the Bar Council of Maharashtra as respondents
The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India on 14 April 1974 allowed the appeals and set aside the orders of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Maharashtra
While setting aside the orders of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Maharashtra the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India stated as follows The Bar Council of Maharashtra has not appeared even though they started the proceedings suo motu and we do not pass any orders as to costs and we direct each party will bear their costs
However we have gone through the evidence ourselves and also the same has been placed in detail by the appellants
All that we can say is that we expected the Bar Council of Maharashtra to be represented in the ap peal because proceedings were started suo motu These statements of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India indicate that the Bar Council of Maharashtra should have appeared before the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India
The scheme of the in short is as follows There are State Bar Councils
There is Bar Council of India Every Bar Council is a body corporate
The functions of a State Bar Council are inter alia to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll and to safeguard the rights privileges and interests of advocates on its roll
The functions of the Bar Council of India are inter alia to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of State Bar Councils to safeguard the rights privileges and interests of advocates and to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils Disciplinary committees are constituted by each Bar Council
A Bar Council is required to constitute one or more disciplinary committees each of which shall consist of three persons of whom two shall 311 be persons elected by the Council from amongst its members and the other shall be A person co opted by the Council from amongst advocates who possesss the qualifications specified in the proviso to section 32 of the Act and are not members of the Council and the senior most advocate amongst the members of a disciplinary committee shall be its Chairman
When the Executive Committees of a State Bar Council and of the Bar Council of India and an Enrolment Committee of a State Bar Council and the legal education committee of the Bar Council of India are to consist of members erected by the Council from amongst its members it is noticeable that the disciplinary committees of Bar Council of State as well as of Bar Council of India shall consist of three persons of whom two shall be elected by the Council from amongst its members and the other shall be a person co opted by the Council from advocates who are not otherwise members of the Council
Chapter V of the Act relates to the Conduct of Advocates
Chap ter V contains sections 35 to 44
Section 35 states that where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise a State Bar Council has reason to believe that any advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional other misconduct it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee
The State Bar Council may either of its own motion or on application made to it by any person interested withdraw a proceeding pending before its disciplinary committee and direct that inquiry to be made by another disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council
The disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council shall fix a date for the hearing of the case and shall cause a notice to be given
to the advocate concerned and to the Advocate General of the State
The disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council may make any of the following orders namely a dismiss the complaint or where the proceedings were initiated at the instance of the State Bar Council direct that the proceedings be filed b reprimand the advocate c suspend the advocate for such period as it may deem fit d remove the name of the advocate from the state roll of advocates
Section 36 speaks of disciplinary powers of the Bar Council of India and provides that where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise the Bar Council of India has reason to believe that any advocate whose name is not entered on any State roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee
The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India may either of its own motion or on a report by any State Bar Council or on an application made to it by any person interested withdraw for inquiry before itself any proceeding for disciplinary action against any advocate pending before the disciplinary committee of any State Bar Council and dispose of the same
Section 37 speaks of appeal to the Bar Council of India
This section states that any person aggrieved by an order of the disciplinary 312 committee of a State Bar Council or the Advocate General of the state may within sixty days of the date of communication of the order prefer an appeal to the Bar Council of India
Section 38 provides for appeal to the Supreme Court
Section 38 states that any person aggrieved by an order made by the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India under section 36 or section 37 or the Attorney General of India or the Advocate General of the State as the case may be may prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court
Section 49 of the Act provides that the Bar Council of India may make rules for discharging its functions under the Act and in particular such rules may prescribe inter alia the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by advocates
The Bar Council of India in exercise of the rule making power under section 49c of the Act on 10 and l l July 1954 approved the rules of standards of professional conduct and etiquette
The standards of professional conduct and etiquette are described in five sections
The first section deals with duty of advocates to the Court
The second section speaks of duty of advocates to the clients
The third section consists of rules regarding duty of advocates to opponent
The fourth section prescribes duties of advocates to colleagues
The fifth section lays down restrictions on advocates on other employments
The present appeals touch on Rule 36 of the Rules of the Bar Council of India
Rule 36 is in fourth section under the heading duty to colleagues Rule 36 speaks that an advocate shall not solicit work or advertise either directly or indirectly whether by circular advertisements touts personal communications interviews not warranted by personal relations furnishing newspaper comments or procuring his photograph to be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned
The question for consideration is the meaning of the words any person aggrieved by an order made by the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India occurring in section 38 of the Act
It is noticeable that in section 37 the Advocate General of the State and in section 38 the Attorney General or the Advocate General of the State as the case may be have been given specific rights of appeal
These rights were introduced into the Act by amendments made in the year 1974 by Amending Act 60 of 1973
In Adi Pherozshah Gandhi vs H M Seervai Advocate General of Maharashtra Bombay1 the question which fell for consideration was whether the appeal filed by the Advocate General of Maharashtra before the Bar Council of India was competent
The majority view was that the Advocate General of the State was not competent to file an appeal to the Bar Council of India
In the Maharashtra case supra the disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council was satisfied that that there was no reason to hold Adi Pherozshah Gandhi guilty of professional misconduct or other misconduct
The Advocate General 1 313 of Maharashtra filed an appeal before the Bar Council of India
The appellant objected to the locus standi of Advocate General before the Bar Council of India
That objection was overruled and the appeal filed by the Advocate General was accepted by the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India
The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India held the advocate Adi Pherozshah Gandhi guilty of misconduct and suspended him from practice for one year
The advocate preferred an appeal under section 38 of the Act to this Court
In view or majority decision the appeal filed by Adi Pherozshah Gandhi was accepted by this Court on the ground that the Advocate General of Maharashtra was incompetent to file an appeal
It is in this background that amendments have been introduced into sections 37 and 38 of the Act conferring right of appeal on the Advocate General of State and the Attorney General of India under sections 37 and 38 respectively
The respondents contended on the ruling of this Court in Adi Pherozshah Gandhi s case supra that the Bar Council of the State is not a person aggrieved to maintain an appeal against a decision of its disciplinary committee for these reasons
First the Bar Council of a State is not an aggrieved person because Bar Council has not suffered ally legal grievance and the decision of the Bar Council of India has not deprived the Bar Council of a State of anything
Second the allegation that order of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India is wrongfully made does not by itself give any grievance to the Bar Council of a State
The person must be aggrieved by the order and not by the consequences which ensue
Third it is not the duty of the State Bar Council to attempt to set right any alleged error of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India
The reason is that no such duty has been imposed or cast by law on the Bar Council of a State
Fourth a person can be said to be aggrieved by an order which is to his detriment pecuniary or otherwise or causes him some prejudice in some form or other
Fifth the Bar Council of a State is subordinate to Bar Council of India and is therefore not competent to appeal against any orders of the superior body
Finally an appeal could have been filed by the Advocate General or the Attorney General of India who have the right to appeal but they have chosen not to do so
The scheme and the provisions of the Act indicates that the constitution of State Bar Councils and Bar Council of India is for one of the principal purposes to see that the standards of professional conduct and etiquette laid down by the Bar Council of India are observed and preserved
The Bar Councils therefore entertain cases of misconduct against advocates
The Bar Councils are to safeguard the rights privilege and interests of advocates
The Bar Council is a body corporate
The disciplinary committees are constituted by the Bar Council
The Bar Council is not the same body as its disciplinary committee
One of the principal functions of the Bar Council in regard to standards of professional conduct and etiquette of advocates is to receive complaints against advocates and if the Bar Council has reason to believe that any advocate has been guilty of professional or other misconduct it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee
The Bar Coun 314 cil of a State may also of its own motion if it has reason to believe that any advocate has been guilty of professional or other misconduct it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee
It is apparent that a State Bar Council not only receives a complaint but is required to apply its mind to find out whether there is any reason to believe that any advocate has ben guilty of professional or other misconduct
The Bar Council of a State acts on that reasoned belief
The Bar Council has a very important part to play first in the reception complaints second in forming reasonable belief of guilt of professional or other misconduct and finally in making reference of the case to its disciplinary committee
The initiation of the proceedings before the disciplinary committee is by the Bar Council of a State
A most Significant feature is that no litigant and no member of the public can straightaway commence disciplinary proceedings against an advocate
lt is the Bar Council of a State which initiates the disciplinary proceedings
In finding out the meaning of the words person aggrieved by an order made by the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India two features are to be kept in the fore front
First there is no lis in proceedings before the disciplinary committee
When the disciplinary committee exercises the power to reprimand the advocate or suspend the advocate from practice or remove the name of the advocate the committee does not decide a suit between the parties
The Bar Council in placing a matter before the disciplinary committee does not act as prosecutor in a criminal case
A complainant who prefers a complaint against an advocate is not like a plaintiff in a civil suit
The complaint is examined by the Bar Council in order to find out whether there is any reason to believe that any advocate has been guilty of misconduct The Bar Council may act on its own initiative on information which has come to its notice in the course of its duties
Second there is no party to the disciplinary proceedings
It is because the Bar Council the Attorney General the Advocate General as the case may be all act in protecting the interests of advocates the interests of the public
In so acting there is no conflict between the advocate and another person
The reason is that it is professional conduct professional etiquette professional ethics professional morality which are to be upheld transgression of which results in reprimanding the advocate of suspending him from practice or removing his name from the roll
With regard to the conduct of the advocates the State Bar Council plays an important part vis a vis the disciplinary committee constituted by the State Bar Council
First under section 351A of the Act the State Bar Council may either of its own motion or on an application made to it by any person interested withdraw a proceeding pending before its disciplinary committee and direct the inquiry to be made by ant other disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council
This indicates the watch that the State Bar Council has to keep
Its task does not cease on placing a matter before the disciplinary committee
This provision shows on one hand the abiding interest of the State Bar Council in the matter and on the other the duty of guarding the professional ethics with which it is entrusted
Second under section 362 of the Act a State Bar Council may make a report to the Bar Council of India to 315 withdraw before the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India any proceeding for disciplinary action against any advocate pending before the disciplinary committee of a State Bar Council
These provisions indicate that after the State Bar Council has placed the matter before its disciplinary committee the Bar Council continues its check on the proceedings
These courses of action are procedural
These steps do not give the State Bar Council any power to deal with the decisions of the disciplinary committee
The reason why the State Bar Council is empowered under the Act to withdraw proceedings from one disciplinary committee and give it to another or to have the disciplinary proceedings withdrawn from the State for determination by the disciplinary committee of the Bal Council of India is that the State Bar Council is all the time interested in the task of preserving the profession against impurities in the standards of conduct
The Bar Council is the collective representative of the lawyers the public in regard lo the observance of professional ethics by persons belonging to the noble profession
The words person aggrieved are found in several statutes
The meaning of the words person aggrieved will have to be ascertained with reference to the purpose and the provisions of the statute
Some times it is said that the words person aggrieved correspond to the requirement of locus standi which arises in relation to judicial remedies
Where a right of appeal to Courts against an administrative or judicial decision is created by statute the right is invariably confined to a person aggrieved or a person who claims to be aggrieved
The meaning of the words a person aggrieved may vary according to the con text of the statute
One of the meanings is that a person will be held to be aggrieved by a decision if that decision is materially adverse to him
Normally one is required to establish that one has been denied or deprieved of something to which one is legally entitled in order to make one a person aggrieved
Again a person is aggrieved if a legal burden is imposed on him
The meaning of the words a person aggrieved is sometimes given a restricted meaning in certain statutes which provide remedies for the protection of private legal rights
The restricted meaning requires denial or deprivation of legal rights
A more liberal approach is required in the background of statutes which do not deal with property rights but deal with professional conduct and morality
The role of the Bar Council under the is comparable to the role of a guardian in professional ethics
The words persons aggrieved in sections 37 and 38 of the Act are of wide import add should not be subjected to a restricted interpretation of possession or denial of legal rights or burdens or financial interests
The test is whether the words person aggrieved include a person who has a genuine grievance because an order has been made which prejudicially affects his interests
It has therefore to be found out whether the Bar Council has a grievance in respect of an order or decision affecting the professional conduct and etiquette
The pre eminent question is what are the interests of the Bal
Council The interests of the Bar Council are the maintenance of standards of professional conduct and etiquette
The Bar Council has 316 no personal or pecuniary interest
the Bar Council has the statutory A duty and interest to see that the rules laid down by the Bar Council of India in relation to professional conduct and etiquette are upheld and not violated
The Bar Council acts as the sentinel of professional code of conduct and is vitally interested in the rights and privileges of the advocates as well as the purity and dignity of the profession
The interest of the Bar Council is to uphold standards of professional conduct and etiquette in the profession which is founded upon integrity and mutual trust
The Bar Council acts as the custodian of the high traditions of the noble profession
The grievance of the Bar Council is to be looked at purely from the point of view of standards of professional conduct and etiquette
If any decision of the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India is according to the State Bar Council such as will lower the standards and imperil the high traditions and values in the profession the State Bar Council is an aggrieved person to safeguard the interests of the public the interests of the profession and the interests of the Bar The Bar Council is a person aggrieved for these reasons First the words person aggrieved in the Act are of wide import in the context of the purpose and provisions of the statute
In disciplinary proceedings before the disciplinary committee there is no lis and there are no parties
therefore the word person will embrace the Bar Council which represents the Bar of the State
Second the Bar Council is a person aggrieved because it represents the collective conscience of the standards of professional conduct and etiquette
The Bar Council acts as the protector of the purity and dignity of the profession
Third the function of the Bar Council in entertaining complaints against advocates is whn the Bar Council has reasonable belief that there is a prima facie case of misconduct that a disciplinary committee is entrusted with such inquiry
Once an inquiry starts the Bar Council has no control over its decision
The Bar Council may entrust it to another disciplinary committee or the Bar Council may make a report to the Bar Council of India
This indicates that the Bar Council is all the time interested in the proceedings for the vindication of discipline dignity and decorum of the profession
Fourth a decision of a disciplinary committee can only be corrected by appeals as provided under the Act
When the Bar Council initiates proceedings by referring cases of misconduct to disciplinary committee the Bar Council in the performance of its functions under the Act is interested in the task of seeing that the advocates maintain the proper standards anl etiquette of the profession
Fifth the Bar Council is vitally concerned with the decision in the context of the functions of the Bar Council
The Bar Council will have a grievance if the decision prejudices the maintenance of standards of professional conduct and ethics
For these reasons we hold that the Bar Council is an aggrieved person to maintain an appeal under the Act
The appeals will now be heard on merits by a Division Bench
317 BEG J
I not only concur with the conclusion reached by My Lord the Chief Justice and the reasons given to support it
but I think that we can and should hold that there was actually a lis between tho Bar Council and the allegedly delinquent Advocates who were hauled up before its Disciplinary Committee on complaints sent by the Executive Committee of the State Bar Council for what were said to be acts of professional misconduct The learned Chief Justice has very clearly and succinctly set out the reasons why a State Bar Council is a person aggrieved entitled to appeal against orders in disciplinary proceedings against members of the Bar of the State
It represents the Bar of the State
It is the keeper of the conscience and the guardian of the interests of members of the Bar
It acts as the protector of the purity and dignity of the  profession Its function in relation to disciplinary proceedings is to entertain complaints against Advocates and when there is a prima facie case of misconduct to initiate proceedings by sending the complaint to its Disciplinary Committee
It has an interest in seeing that correct decisions are given upon matters involving allegations of misconduct against members of the Bar of the State
My learned brother Krishna Iyer has indicated the wide range and the social significance and dimensions of this interest
A State Bar Council is composed primarily of members elected from amongst Advocates of a State
Its statutory functions are given in Section 6 of the hereinafter referred to as the Act 
Amongst these we are especially concerned here with clauses c and d of Section 6t of the Act which read as follows c to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll d to safeguard the rights privileges and interests of advocate on its roll Under Section 9 of the Act the State Bar Council constitutes its Disciplinary Committee consisting of three persons of whom two shall be persons elected by the
Council from amongst its members and the other shall be a person elected by the Council from amongst Advocates who possess the qualifications specified 
Under Section 10 it elects an Executive Committee of five members and an Enrolment Committee of three members
Thus the State Bar Council operates through its Committees
Each Committee has distinct and separable functions
Each could therefore be said to have a persona and an identity of its own which is distinguishable from that of the Bar Council as a whole
Each Committee no doubt acts for the Bar Council but its members are likely to be different although this is not necessarily so
In any case when the State Bar Council has sent a case to its Disciplinary Committee under Section 35 of the Act that Committee proceeds as an independent and impartial authority which tries a complaint and either dismisses lt or directs proceedings to be filed or upon finding an advocate guilty punishes him by either reprimanding him suspending him from practice for a specified period or orders removal of his name 7 L 839 Sup CI75 318 from its roll of advocates
Indeed Section 421 of the Act gives the Disciplinary Committee the powers of a Civil Court under the Civil Procedure Code and Section 422 enacts that its proceedings shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings for the purposes mentioned there
At the trial of a complaint opportunities to be heard must be given to the Advocate General and to the Advocate who is tried by it
This has to be done because there are disputes and conflicting interests and points of view on which the Disciplinary Committee has to give its decisions
Tho Advocate General can appear either personally or through an Advocate representing him
He presumably represents public interest as well as the interests of the legal profession of which he is the formal head in the State
It is true that there is no provision in Section 35 of the Act for impleading the State Bar Council which on its executive side initiates the proceedings by sending the case to its Disciplinary Committee
But if the Bar Council has a separable interest as a guardian of the rights and privileges of the members of the Bar specifically mentioned by Section 61d of the Act there is no reason why I right to represent this interest before its on Disciplinary Committee well as before the Bar Council of India on an appeal under Section 37 of the Act or on the further appeal to this Court under Section 38 of the Act should be denied to it
Neither Section 37 nor Section 38 of the Act mention the State Bar Council as a separate entity
Nevertheless if as we are holding it can have the locus standi and rights of person aggrieved affected by the results of such proceedings I see no reason why we should not say that in tho position of a party to a lis or a dispute between itself and the allegedly delinquent Advocate towards the decision of which the proceedings are directed
The term lis is not confined to litigation by means of a suit in a Court of law
In Butler vs Mountgarret it was held that a suit is not necessary to constitute lis
It was pointed out there that a family  controversy capable of being litigated is a lis mota 
In B Johnson  Co Builders vs Minister of Health2 Lord Greene MR said Lis implies the conception of an issue joined between two parties The decision of a lis is the decision of that issue
If the State Bar Council acting through its through it Executive Committee has found a prima facie case to be send and tried by its Disciplinary Committee it performs the functions of a prosecuting agency
lt does so i the discharge of its duty to safeguard the rights privileges and interests  of advocates as a whole on its roll which are affected by the misconduct of an advocate
There arc therefore triable issues between it and the  individual Advocate accused of misconduct
lt seems to mc that we could and should therefore hold that the State Bar Council in its executive capacity act as the prosecutor through its Executive Committee There is no incongruity in its Disciplinary Committee representing is judicial want functioning as an impartial Judge whose decisions ar binding upon the State Bar Council
If are were holding that Bar Council dissatisfied with a decision of its Disciplinary Committee can appeal against it we her to I think as its logical corollary also hold that it is 1 7 H L Ca 641
2  At 399 319 a party to a lis
Our opinion that it is a person aggrieved within the meaning of that expression as used in Sections 37 and 38 of the Act necessarily implies that
The point of view stated above rests upon the distinction between the two different capacities of the State Bar Council an executive capacity in which it acts as the prosecutor through its Executive Committee and a quasi judicial function which it performs through s Disciplinary Committee
If we can make this distinction as I think we can there is no merger between the prosecutor and the Judge here
If one may illustrate from another sphere when the State itself gets through it executive agencies to prosecute and then though its judicial wing to decide a case there is no breach of a rule of natural justice
The prosecutor and the Judge could not be said to have the some personality or approach just because both of them represents different aspects or functions of the same State
For the reasons given above I do not see any objection to a participation of State Bar Council in its executive capacity in a disciplinary proceeding against an Advocate on its roll either at the initial or the appellate stages
Before it can become a person aggrieved by an order against which it could appeal there must have been a lis or a dispute to be decided which gives rise to the order complained of
To such a lis the State Bar Council in its executive capacity must be deemed to be a party
Apparently its interests are presumed to be sufficiently represented by the Advocate General
Hence it was not considered necessary to provide for its separate representation by a notice to be given by its Disciplinary Committee is provided for in the case of the Advocate General But their seems to me to be no legal obstacle in the way of its separate representation if
it so desires even before its own Disciplinary Committee
It certainly has notice of every complaint whenever it send it to its Disciplinary Committee
Its right to appeal in any event as a person aggrieved seems squarely covered by the provisions of Sections 37 and 38 of the Act
It may be mentioned here that the respondents themselves treated the Bar Council as a party interested in a list so that it could become a person aggrieved by the setting aside of the orders against respondents when they impleaded the State Bar Council as a respondent in their appeals to the Bar Council India
Its statutory right to appeal to this Court under Section 38 is not affected by the mere fact that it did not put in appearance before the Bar Council of India
KRISHNA IYER J
My concurrence the opinion which has been handed down by the learned Chief Justice is ordinarily dissuasive of a separated long note save when a fresh perspective is to be presented or new frontiers are to be drawn by doing so
Partially my supplementary has this apology
The tow day long arguments in this case have been devoted to a construction of two simple words in common use forming the 320 expression person aggrieved 
Precedential erudition and traditional approaches not withstanding the key to tho meaning of the expression in question lies in plain English plus the social fell of the Status and the public commitment of the legal profession the regulation on which has been achieved by the for short the Act wherein the above words occur
Legal scholarship to be fruitful must focus on the life style of the law without getting lost in mere logomachy
The short question is as to whether the State Bar Council is a person aggrieved  within the meaning of section 38 so that it has locus standi to appeal to this Court against a decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Bar Council of India which it claims is embarrassingly erroneous and if left unchallenged may frustrate the high obligation of maintaining standards of probity and purity and canons of correct professional conduct among the members of the Bar on its rolls
I skip the facts as they have been 5 out in the judgment of the armed Chief Justice except to state
that a number of advocates who are ranged as respondents had been found guilty by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the State Bar Council of unseemly soliciting but
On appeal
the disciplinary body of the National Bar Council exonerated them on certain view of professional conduct  which disturbed the State Bar Council and even the All India Bar Council with the result that the former came upto this Court in appeal and
the latter activity supported this stand
The hackneyed phrase person aggrieved is not merely of frequent occurrence m statutes and in the writ jurisdiction but has come up for judicial consideration in Anglo American and India courts in a variety of situations and legislative settings
Notwithstanding the slippery semantics of such legalese the Indian legislative draftsmen have continued to use them out of linguistic allegiance to the British art and Indian Judges have frequently sought interpretative light from English authorities of ancient vintage
These borrowed  drafting and interpretative exercises arc sometimes inept when time and country change and the context and text of the statute vary
I stress this aspect since much of the time of the Courts in India is consumed by massive and sometimes mechanical reliance on exotic constructions and default in evolving legislative simplicity and avoiding interpretative complexity
At a time when our Courts are on trial for delayed disposals and mystifying processes this desideratum becomes all the more urgent
Otherwise why should decoding a single expression person aggrieved  take two days of learned length  Even
in England so well known a Parliamentary draftsman as Francis Bennion has recently pleaded in the Manchester Guardian against incomprensible law forgetting that it is fundamentally important in a free society that the law should be readily ascertainable and reasonably clear and that otherwise it is oppressive and deprives 321 the citizen of one of his basic rights 
It is also needlessly expensive and wasteful
Reed Dickerson the famous American Draftsman said lt cost the Government and the public many millions of dollars annually 
The Renton Committee in England has reported on drafting reform but it is unfortunate that India is unaware of this problem and in a post Independence statute like the legislators should still get entangled in these drafting mystiques and judges forced lo play a linguistic game when the country has an illiterate laity as consumers of law and the rule of law is basic to our constitutional order
Back to the issue
Is the State Bar Council a person aggrieved  No narrow
pedantic technical or centenarian construction can be blindly applied
On the other hand a spacious construction functionally informed by the social conscience and the salutary purpose of the enactment must illumine the judicial effort
So viewed the ample
import and breath of meaning of the words person aggrieved  will 
embrace the State Bar Councilfor reasons which 1 shall presently set out
Each statute has a personality and a message
Judicial interpretation is not bloodless and sterile exercise in spinning subtle webs sometimes cobwebs out of words and phrases otherwise simples
but to unfold the scheme of the Legislation insightfully sense its social setting and read the plain intendment
This living approach can do justice to law We arc here concerned with a legislative outfit for a national Bar organising and prescribing its statutory autonomy elective structure public functions internal regulation and ultimate appeal to the Supreme Court where canons of good conduct have been allegedly breached by delinquent lawyers
This conspectus will show what a vibrant and responsible role the Bar Council has to play at the State and national levels and any interpretation which will detract from this supervisory status of the Bar Council will be incongruous with the founding creed of the institution
The paramount concern of the Bar Councils is the lawyer the public and professional responsibility
Anything that hurts the health of this system is a social trauma a legal grievance a special injury for them
After all lawyer power  lasts not through peak incomes of a few and security of statutory monopoly but by the high comport and ethics of the many screening and weeding deviants and delinquents
Let us get a glimpse of the great expectations about The legal profession in society
Long ago De Toqueville trenchantly remarked that the profession of law
is the only aristrocratic element which can be amalgamated without violence with natural elements of democracy
I cannot believe that a Republic could subsist if the influence of lawyers in public business did not increase in proportion to the power of the people
 He rightly stressed that lawyers belong to the people by birth an
interest to the aristocracy by habit and taste 
Thus the profession is 322 the connecting link between the community and the Administration given an enlightened goal oriented group outgrowing its elitist mores indeed today lawyers are recruited also from the lower brackets
India has huge number of law men who can be a force
What Prof Brabanti observed about the Pakistan Bar has some only some though relevance to India and I quote The sheer size of the legal community strongly organised into bar associations and closely allied with equally strong courts has not only been a major source for the diffusion and regeneration of norms generally but by weight of numbers has enabled the courts to remain strong and has prevented the rise of administrative lawlessness
There is s curious anomaly here
The legal community while often antagonistic to government and constraining executive action is nevertheless closely identified normatively and culturally with the bureaucratic elite
This identification curiously coupled with health antagonism actually enhances the strength of the legal community
It derives popular support from its ostensible opposition to Government and at the same time elicits bureaucratic support in the community at large
It has a net work of relationships in rural areas and the cities
In short the legal community is a force to be reckoned with
It has challenged the executive during and after martial law it has defined efforts to restrict court jurisdiction it has compelled justiciability of fundamental rights it has forced abrogation of several restrictive enactments
Is this law as an impendiment to political development  Is this misallocation of scarce resources in the system Is this unproductive use of non productive man power  On the contrary it seems to us that this is the Very genius of political development Michael Hager after quoting Prof Brabanti comments in his article in the American Bar Association Journal January 1972 Vol 58 on The Role of Lawyers in Developing Countries  The legal profession has a unique opportunity to effect change from within the political elite to exert pressure from without and to win over the general public to development policies
And as Mihaly and Nelson observed with respect to legal education law graduates usually fan out not only into legal practice but also into responsible positions in business government and politics 
 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 monoply licence to practice law is based on three assumptions 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 normally by the profession as a whole
The central function 323 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 Raymond Marks et al Chicago American Bar Foundation 1972 p288 289
A glance at The functions of the Bar Council and it will be apparent that a rainbow of public utility duties including legal aid to the pour is cast on these bodies in the national hope that the members of this monopoly will serve society and keep to canons of ethics befitting an honourable order
If pathological cases of member misbehaviour occur the reputation and credibility of the Bar suffer a mayhem and who out the Bar Council is more concerned with and sensitive to this potential disrepute The few black sheep bring about The official heads of the Bar ie the Attorney General and the Advocates General too are distressed if a lawyer stoops to conquer  by resort to soliciting touting and other corrupt practices
I may now refer to A P Gandhi vs H M Seervai 1 where diver gent opinions were delivered but all concurred in treating the Bar Council as an aggrieved person 
The earlier decision in Bhataraju 2 strikes a note in consonance with this view
No hesitancy inhibits me from hazarding the opinion that the social canvas must be spread wide when making out the profile of a statute like the for the good reason that the Bar has a share in being the sentinel on the qui vive when the legal dykes of Right and justice are breached by authoritarianism or citizen wrong doing
Nor do I conceal my halfhorror at any professional tribunal glossing over snatching briefs  and dragging clients  provided they are proved as less than gross misconduct
If the salt lose their savour wherewith shall they be salted  However I hasten to make it plain to avoid prejudice to the parties
that I totally desist from pronouncing on the merits of tho evidence in this case
One more point
A case of professional misconduct is not a lis in the British sense nor a case and controversy in the American meaning
It is a public investigation about misconduct by one belonging to public profession where every member of the Bar with a reputation to lose has a stake and every one concerned with the justice administration is interested
Traditionally used to the adversary system we search for individual persons aggrieved
But a new class of litigation public interest litigation where a section or whole of the community is involved such as consumers  organisations or NAACP National Association for Advancement of Coloured People in America emerges
In a developing country like ours this pattern of public oriented litigation better fulfils the rule of law if it is to run close to the rule of life
The Bar Council clearly comes within this category of organisations When a lawyer is involved
I derive support for this philosophy of approach from academic and judicial opinion in England and America
A question arose whether a railroad company BAR Bangor and Aroostook Railroad could bring an action against the stockholders for having drained BAR 1 197 I S C R 863
2 1955 1 section C R 10551064
324 improperly
Although an academic critic took the view that the District Court was incorrect in its view that BAR was the sole beneficiary  he went on to state that the public s interest in the financial health of BAR provided a separate interest in bringing the action
The learned author wrote It would seem to be incontestable that the public has a very n real interest in rail roads
Railroads have been found vital to a healthy national economy any such factor must
a priori be deemed a potent component of the public welfare
As such it is evident that a financially healthy railroad is of concern not only to its stockholders but to the public as well Finding that the management of a railroad has obligations running to the public as well as fiduciary duties owing to the corporation s stockholders the Court concluded that of these two responsibilities tho public interest is paramount
It must be remembered the Court cautioned that railways are public corporations organized for public purposes
They all primarily owe duties to the public of a higher nature even than that of earning large dividends for their shareholders Review by James 1
Simon of Bangor  Aroostook R R vs Bangor Punta operations Inc Bangor  Aroostook  Cir 1973 cert
granted 94 SCt
863 1974 Columbia Law Review Vol
74 No 3 April 197 p 528 at pp
531 532
Similarly the American Supreme Court relaxed from the restrictive attitude towards standing  in public action in Baker vs Carr  1962 vide Maryland Law Review Vol
XXXIII 1973 p506 In Baker voters challenged the failure of the Tennessee legislature to reapportion itself since 1901 the plaintiffs lived l in countries which had become under represented under the old law
The Supreme Court held that these voters had the requisite standing to challenge the inaction of the legislature The Court expanded the notion cf direct injury to include mere debasement  of a vote rather than the total deprivation which had previously been required American jurisprudence has recognised for instance the expanding importance of consumer protection in the economic system and permitted consumer organisations to initiate or intervene in actions although by the narrow rule of locus standi  such a course could not have been justified see p 807 New York University Law Review
46 1971
In fact citizen organisations have recently been Campaigning for using legal actions for protection of community interest broadening the scope of standing  in legal proceedings see p403 Boston University Law Review Vol
51 1971
325 In the well known case of AttorneyGeneral of the Gambia vs Pierr sarr N Jiel Lord Denning observed about the Attorney General s standing thus 
The words person aggrieved  are of wide import and should not be subjected to a restrictive interpretation
They do not include of course a mere busy body who is interfering
in things which do not concern him but they do include a person who has a genuine grievance because an order has been made which prejudicially affects his interests
Has the Attorney General a sufficient interest for this purpose  Their Lordships think that he has
The Attorney General in a colony represents the Crown as the guardian of the public interest
It is his duty to bring before the judge any mis conduct of a barrister or solicitor which is of sufficient gravity to warrant disciplinary action
 Ray J as he then was crystallised this ratio in AP Gandhi supra thus The Judicial Committee construed the words person aggrieved  to include the Attorney General of Gambia as representing the public interest p927 The profession touches the public on the one hand and the courts on the other
On no other basis could the presence of J the Advocate General be explained p928 Although not strictly confined to standing  with reference to suits jurists have thrown some light on this subject
Professor SA de Smith has observed All developed legal systems have had to face the problem of adjusting conflicts between two aspects of the public interest the desirability of encouraging individual citizens to participate actively in the enforcement of the law and the undesirability of encouraging the professional litigant and the meddlesome interloper to invoke the jurisdiction of the courts in matters that do not concern him Quoted ill Standing Justifiability  by V section Deshpande Journal of the Indian Law Institute April June 1971 Vol 13 No 2 p 174 Professor HWR Wade has observed In other words certiorari is not confined by a narrow conception of locus standi
It contains an element of the actio 1 326 popularis
This is because it looks beyond the personal rights A of tho applicant it is designed to keep the machinery of justice in proper working order by presenting inferior tribunals and public authorities from abusing their powers Standing and Justiciability bid p 175 The possible apprehension that widening legal standing With a public connotation may unloose a flood of litigation which may overwhelm the judges is misplaced because public resort to court to suppress public mischief is a tribute to the justice system
In this very case to grant an exclusionary windfall on the respondents is to cripple the Bar Council in its search for justice and insistence on standards
I have been long on a short point but brevity where there is some thing to speak is not the soul of wit but a sign of something different


Summary:
The State Bar Councils created by the have been entrusted with the functions inter alia of entertaining and determining cases of misconduct against advocates on their rolls and to safeguard their rights privileges and interests
The Bar Council of India which is a national body created by the Act is entrusted with the work of laying down standards of professional conduct and etiquette and overseeing the functioning of the State Bar Councils
Under section 35 of the Act if a State Bar Council either on receipt of a complaint or otherwise has reason to believe that any advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct it shall refer the case to its Disciplinary Committee which after due inquiry may impose certain penalties
An appeal from the decision of the State Bar Council lies to the Bar Council of India
Any person aggrieved by an order of the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India may under section 38 appeal to the Supreme Court
In exercise of the Powers conferred by the Act the Bar Council of India framed rules relating to professional conduct and etiquette r 36 of which says that advocates shall not solicit work or advertise themselves
The State Bar Council in the present case issued notices to the respondents suo motu alleging that they stood at the entrance of the court house at the Presidency Magistrate s Court Fort Bombay and solicited work etc and that the said act amounted to professional andor other misconduct the Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Council found the respondents guilty of conduct which absolutely lowered the reputation of the Bar in the eyes of the public and suspended them from practising as advocates
The respondents  appeal to the Bar Council of India having been allowed the State Bar Council has come up in appeal to this Court under section 38
Before the Bar Council of India the State Bar Council had not appeared
F On the question whether the State Bar Council is a person aggrieved Allowing the appeals Held  By the full Court The State Bar Council is an aggrieved person to maintain an appeal under the Act
per Ray CJ Khanna Mathew Gupta and Murtaza Fazal Ali JJ 1 The Bar Council is a person aggrieved because i the words person aggrieved in the Act are of wide import in the context of the purpose and provisions of the statute and should not be subjected to a restricted interpretation of possession or denial of legal rights or burdens or financial interests
In disciplinary proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee there is no lis and there are no parties
The word person  will embrace the Bar Council which represents the Bar of the State ii the Bar Council represents the collective conscience of the standards of professional conduct and etiquette
The Bar Council acts as the protector of the purity and dignity of the profession iii the function of the Bar Council in entertaining complaints against advocates indicates that the Bar Council is interested in the proceedings for the vindication of discipline
dignity and decorum of the profession iv when the Bar Council ini 307 tiates proceedings by referring eases of misconduct to the Disciplinary Committee the Bar Council in the performance of its function under the Act is interested in the task of seeing that the advocates maintain proper standards and etiquette of the profession and v the Bar Council is vitally concerned with the decision in the context of its functions
The Bar Council will have a grievance if the decision prejudices the maintenance of standards of professional conduct and ethics
315G 316D G 2 a The Bar Council acts as the sentinel of professional code of conduct and is vitally interested in the rights and privileges of the advocates as well as the purity and dignity of the profession
316A B b The grievance of the Bar Council is to be looked at purely from the point of view of standards of professional conduct and etiquette
If any decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India is according to the State Bar Council such as will lower the standards and imperil the high traditions and values in the profession the State Bar Council is an aggrieved person to safeguard the interests of the public the interests of the profession and the interests of the Bar
316B C 3 The most significant feature in the matter of initiation of proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee is that no litigant and no member of the public can straightaway commence disciplinary proceedings against an advocate It is the Bar Council of a State which initiates the disciplinary proceedings
There is no lis in proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee The Bar Council in placing a matteu
before the Disciplinary Committee does not act as a prosecutor in a criminal case
A complainant who prefers a complaint against an advocate is not like a plaintiff in a civil suit
The Bar Council may act on its own initiative on information which has come to its notice in the course of its duties
There is no party to the disciplinary proceedings because the Bar Council the Attorney General the Advocate General act in protecting the interests of advocates and the interests of  the public
In so acting there is no conflict between the advocate and any other person because it is professional conduct professional etiquette professional ethics professional morality which are to be upheld
transgression of which results in reprimanding the advocate or suspending him from practice or removing his name from the roll
314B F Adi Pherozshah Gandhi vs H M Seervai Advocate General of Maharashtra
Bombay 1971 I SCR 863 referred to Beg J concurring 1 There is no objection to a participation of a State Bar Council in its executive capacity in a disciplinary proceeding against an advocate on its roll either at the initial or at the appellate stages
Before it can become a person aggrieved by an order against which it could appeal there must have been a lis or a dispute to be decided which gives rise to the order complained of
To such a lis the State Bar Council in its executive capacity must be deemed to be a party
There seems to be no legal obstacles in the way of its separate representation even before its own Disciplinary Committee
Its right to appeal as a person aggrieved is squarely covered by the provisions of sections 37 and 38 of the Act
In the present case the respondents themselves treated the Bar Council as a party interested in the lis when they impleaded the State Bar Council as a respondent in their appeals to the Bar Council of India
Its statutory right to appeal under section 38 is not affected by the mere fact that it did not put in appearance before the Bar Council of India
319D G 2 The State Bar Council operates through its committees
Each committee has distinct and separable functions
Each could be said to have a persona and an identity of its own which is distinguishable from that of the Bar Council as a whole 317G 3 a If the Bar Council has a separable interest as a guardian of the rights and privileges of the members of the Bar specifically mentioned by section 61d of the Act
there is no reason why a right to represent this interest before its 308 own Disciplinary Committee as well as before the Bar Council of India on an A appeal under section 37 of the Act or on further appeal to this Court under section 38 of the Act should be denied to it
318C D 4a When the State Bar Council can have locus standi and rights of a person aggrieved affected by the results of such proceedings there is no reason why it should not be in the position of a party lo a lis or dispute  between itself and the allegedly delinquent advocate
318D E b The term lis  is not confined to litigation by means of a suit in a court of law
318E Butler vs Mountgarret 7 HL Ca
641 and B Johnson  Co Builders vs Minister of Health 399 referred to
The State Bar Council in its executive capacity acts as the prosecutor through its Executive Committee
There is no incongruity in its Disciplinary Committee representing its judicial wing functioning as an impartial judge whose decisions are binding upon the State Bar Council
It is a person aggrieved within the meaning of that expression used in sections 37 and 38 of the Act
318G H Krishna Iyer J concurring 1 The Bar is not a private guild like that of barbers butchers and candlestick makers  but 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 i there is a socially useful function for the lawyer to perform ii  the lawyer is a professional person who will perform that function and iii 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
322G H 2 In a developing country the pattern of public oriented litigation better fulfils the rule of law if it is to rule close to the rule of life
The Bar Council clearly comes within this category of organisations when a lawyer is involved
3 A case of professional misconduct is not a lis in the British sense nor a case and controversy in the American meaning
It is a public investigation about misconduct by one belonging to a public profession where every member of the Bar with a reputation to lose has a stake and everyone concerned with the justice administration is interested the Bar has a share in being the sentinel on the qui vive when the legal dykes of right and justice are breached by authoritarianism or citizen wrongdoing
323F Gl 4 The possible apprehension that widening legal standing with a public connotation may unloose a flood of litigation which may overwhelm the judges is misplaced because public resort to court to suppress public mischief is a tribute to the justice system
In this case to grant an exclusionary windfall on the respondents is to cripple the Bar Council in its search for justice and insistence on standards
326B G A P Gandhi vs H M Seeravai 1971 1 SCR refered to