LI Network
Published on: 15 September 2023 at 12:06 IST
The Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on an advocate for sending an non-prepared junior lawyer to court to seek an adjournment. The incident unfolded before a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud during a scheduled hearing. Instead of the main advocate, a junior lawyer appeared before the bench and requested a postponement, citing the unavailability of the principal attorney.
Expressing their dissatisfaction, the bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Manoj Misra responded sternly, emphasizing that the court’s functioning incurs infrastructural costs and urged the junior lawyer to start arguing the case instead.
The advocate on record, Ankur Yadav, who was supposed to represent the petitioner, failed to appear, while his junior, Advocate Satish Yadav, stood in his place. On the respondent’s side, AOR Rachna Gupta appeared alongside AOR Shashank Tripathi.
The junior lawyer admitted to the bench that he was unaware of the case details and lacked instructions to present arguments. In response, the bench expressed its displeasure, insisting that they were prepared to hear the case and requested the advocate on record to appear before them.
Subsequently, the advocate on record joined the proceedings through video conferencing and offered an apology to the apex court. The bench questioned him about why he had sent an unprepared junior to court without any case-related documents or knowledge.
The bench recorded in its order, stating, “A junior was sent unprepared without any papers. When we declined to grant an adjournment, the advocate on record appeared. Matters cannot be conducted in this manner. This is doing disservice both to the court and to the junior who is made to appear without any papers.”
As a consequence, the Advocate on Record was directed to deposit Rs 2,000 as costs to the Supreme Court Bar Association and provide a receipt as evidence of the payment.