The Supreme Court has let off an advocate with just a warning, setting aside a one-year suspension order that the Bar Council of India had imposed on him nearly 14 years ago. The case involved allegations that the lawyer assaulted and threatened a litigant inside a Delhi court's toilet.
Background Of The Case
The dispute goes back to 2005. Advocate Sudhendu Prakash Gautam was representing a company, M/s Recon Copier System Private Limited, in a case before the Labour Court at Karkardooma, Shahdara. The opposite party in that matter, S.L. Chaudhary, alleged that after his application was dismissed by the Labour Court, Gautam grabbed him by the collar, beat him up, abused him, and threatened to kill him inside the court premises. Chaudhary also claimed the advocate forced him to withdraw a separate complaint by threatening dire consequences.
Chaudhary first approached the Delhi Police in April and August 2005, and then filed a complaint with the Bar Council of Delhi. The matter eventually reached the Bar Council of India, which in 2012 suspended Gautam from practice for a year. The Supreme Court stayed that suspension the same year, and the appeal remained pending for over a decade.
Court's Observations
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar noted that Gautam was not properly heard by the Bar Council of India, since his adjournment request was rejected and the matter decided the same day. Even so, the Court declined to send the case back, pointing out that nearly 21 years had passed since the original complaint.
The bench also clarified that Gautam was never Chaudhary's lawyer - he was opposing counsel - so there was no question of professional misconduct linked to the court proceedings themselves. However, the judges stressed that every advocate must behave decently inside court premises, not just with clients but also with opposing lawyers and litigants, and that such conduct can still attract scrutiny under the Advocates Act.
Supreme Court's Decision
The Court modified the Bar Council's order, disposing of the appeal by issuing a formal warning to Gautam to always conduct himself properly in court premises, while setting aside the one-year suspension.
Case Details
Case Title: Sudhendu Prakash Gautam v. S.L. Chaudhary
Case Number: Civil Appeal No. 7171 of 2012
Judge: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
Decision Date: 30 July 2026
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