LI Network
Published on: November 22, 2023 at 12:30 IST
The Delhi High Court, in response to a self-initiated contempt petition, has instructed the Bar Council of Delhi to conduct an investigation and take necessary action against an advocate implicated in the alleged creation of a false Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) order.
The controversy arose when, during prior proceedings, the defendants submitted a compilation of documents to a Single Judge, including a document purported to be a copy of an IPAB order. Doubts regarding the document’s authenticity prompted the Single Judge to order an inquiry into its legitimacy.
Following the inquiry, the Single Judge determined that no records supporting the existence of the claimed IPAB order were found. Invoking Section 18 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Single Judge referred the matter to the Chief Justice for consideration by an appropriate Division Bench.
A Division Bench consisting of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Shalinder Kaur issued a directive, stating, “We hereby direct the Bar Council of Delhi to take appropriate action, as per law against the said Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, Advocate, if he is found guilty of manufacturing the order dated 02.03.2016 purported to be by IPAB.”
Respondent No. 1 tendered an unconditional apology, providing an explanation for obtaining the document and expressing belief in its authenticity at the time.
Accepting the apology, the Court absolved the respondents from contempt proceedings and delegated to the Bar Council of Delhi the responsibility to take appropriate action against the implicated advocate if found guilty of manufacturing the document.
The case was thereby concluded under the title “Court On Its Own Motion v. Vicky Aggarwal & Ors.”