Lawyer associations a pvt body, not 'State', outside writ jurisdiction: HC

Delhi High Court rules that lawyers' associations are private bodies, not 'State' under Article 12, and therefore not subject to writ jurisdiction

The Delhi High Court has ruled that lawyers’ associations are private bodies and do not fall within the definition of “State” or its instrumentalities under Article 12 of the Constitution, holding that they are therefore outside the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.

 

A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia on Friday held that the functions ordinarily performed by bar associations are confined to safeguarding the interests of individual advocates and lack any public or statutory character that would attract constitutional scrutiny under Article 226.

 

Article 226 of the Indian Constitution grants High Courts the power to issue writs — directions, orders, or writs such as habeas corpus and mandamus — to enforce fundamental rights and for “any other purpose”.

 

 

Dismissing an appeal filed by advocate Sangita Rai, the Bench affirmed a single-judge order declining to entertain her writ petition against the New Delhi Bar Association. The court agreed with the earlier finding that a bar association, being a private entity, is not amenable to writ proceedings.

 

The appeal arose from a dispute over the use of a lawyer’s chamber at the Patiala House Courts. Rai had claimed that she had been occupying the chamber on rent since 2013 and was unlawfully dispossessed after the lock was allegedly broken and her access to files obstructed. She had sought restoration of possession and action against those allegedly involved.

 

The Division Bench observed that the appropriate remedy for such grievances lay elsewhere, noting that Rai should have approached the Bar Council. It also clarified that criminal remedies remained open to her against advocates allegedly involved in forcibly entering the chamber. Finding no error in the single judge’s reasoning, the court dismissed the appeal.