Ask Bajwa to refrain from tarnishing & defaming the esteemed office of AG & the Profession of Layers
Chandigarh, January 18, 2020 -The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, as well as the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar
Association, have come out in unequivocal support of Atul Nanda, strongly condemning Partap Singh Bajwa’s open letter asking the Chief Minister to ‘immediately sack’ the Advocate General.
The Advocate General is a high constitutional office under Article 165 of the Constitution of India and is not to be targeted to settle petty political scores, said the Council in a statement issued here on Saturday evening.
Pointing out that Mr Bajwa was a senior politician and a sitting law maker, the Council said he was expected to conduct himself with dignity and diligence. His open letter has not only brought disrepute to the office of Advocate General, it has hurt the sentiments of the entire legal fraternity, it said.
Mr Bajwa perhaps is oblivious of the contribution of the lawyers in the nation building, said the Council, adding that the legal fraternity had given great leaders to this great nation. Further noting that the
Advocate General was also a respected ex officio Member of this Council and very erudite lawyer in his own right, it said the letter had unnecessarily and unfairly tarnished the reputation of the
Advocate General, Punjab, and also brought disrepute to the constitutional office of the Advocate General,
which office has been held by many a doyen and legal legends like Justice SM Sikri (former
Chief Justice of India), Justice Kuldip Singh (Supreme Court), Justice HS Bedi (Supreme Court), Shri Hira Lal Sibbal and like esteemed persons.
"Every Advocate is first and foremost an officer of the Court and owes a duty to the court of law. There is a certain nobility attached to the legal profession and it cannot be reduced to a commercial enterprise
guaranteeing of 100% victory in court cases. Such a thought is most ludicrous and an audacious impossibility,” said the Council.
The Council said Bajwa’s letter had to be condemned in the strongly possible manner and hoped that the MP would refrain from making such feeble attempts in future to defame the institute of the AG, Punjab, and
the professional reputation of lawyers.
Earlier, in a resolution passed here on Saturday, the Punjab and Haryana HC Bar Association said while it was not concerned with political issues but the Office of the AG was not only a legal officer under the Constitution of India, but also the AG and the office of Advocate General, Punjab, comprises almost 200 lawyers, also forming a part of the Bar.
“Bald allegations of such of such nature attacking the legal institution of the Advocate General is
unfortunate and also unnecessarily and unfairly tarnishes the reputation of our fellow lawyers who form part of the said office,” said the Bar members in the resolution.
The resolution noted that Bajwa’s open letter, dated 17th January 2020, had been circulating in public domain, including WhatsApp groups, amongst Hon'ble Judges, Senior advocates, and
fellow lawyers since yesterday morning. It also formed part of several media reports in the Press, it further noted, trashing the Rajya Sabha MP’s letter calling upon Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to "appoint a competent person" in Nanda’s place.
The Bar hoped that “such conduct will not repeat itself in the future which demeans the
institution of the Advocate General, Punjab, and tarnishes the professional reputation of lawyers.”