In a significant ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court of India came to the rescue of a young advocate who had been reprimanded by the Madhya Pradesh High Court for alleged professional impropriety. The bench, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, set aside remarks that had cast doubt on the lawyer’s integrity.
Background
The case traces back to 2022, when advocate Siddharth represented a set of petitioners before the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur in a challenge involving admission rules for medical institutions. While citing a Supreme Court decision in support of his clients, the High Court felt Siddharth failed to disclose an earlier ruling from 2020 that upheld the same rules. In its April 2022 order, the High Court stated his conduct “borders on professional impropriety” and even recorded its displeasure in strong words.
Siddharth, feeling that his reputation had been unfairly tarnished, approached the Supreme Court. His counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar, argued that the omission was not deliberate and pointed out that Siddharth had not even been engaged in the earlier 2020 case.
The apex court carefully examined the High Court’s remarks. Justice Mehta noted during the hearing, “It appears the possibility of the fact having escaped the appellant’s attention cannot be ruled out. The adverse observations could have been avoided.”
The bench also took into account the advocate’s unconditional apology and his clarification that there was never an attempt to mislead the court. Interestingly, despite being served notice, no lawyer appeared for the State of Madhya Pradesh or the other respondents, leaving the appellant’s case uncontested.
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Decision
Finally, the Supreme Court ordered that the remarks made by the High Court against Siddharth be expunged from the record. It also quashed a subsequent High Court order of January 2024, which had refused to delete those adverse comments.
In short, the country’s top court has wiped the slate clean for the advocate, ensuring that his professional record remains untarnished. The appeals were accordingly disposed of.
Case Title: Siddharth vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Others
Case Type: Civil Appeal (arising out of SLP (Civil) Nos. 23725–23726 of 2024)
