Page 6 - Lawyers

RS passes Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to regulate legal profession

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to regulate the legal profession by a single Act and seeks to target "touts". The amendment would help to regulate the legal profession through a single Act, the Advocates Act, 1961, according to statement of objects and reasons of the legislation. Replying to a debate on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the legal profession is a noble profession and unlawful practices should be dealt with firmly. The Bill was passed by a voice vote, following which the House adjourned for the day. The Bill provides that every high court and district judge can frame and publish lists of touts (those who procure clients for legal practitioner in return for any payment). As per the provisions, such persons named in the list of touts will be excluded from entering the court premises. Any violation of this provision will entail punishment with imprisonment up to three .

Donald Trump's political committee splurges over $40mn on lawyers' fees

Former President Donald Trump 's mounting legal woes are burning through cash, leading his campaign to request a refund from a supportive super PAC and launch a new legal defence fund to help cover costs. His political action committee, Save America, is expected to disclose Monday that it spent more than USD 40 million on legal fees during the first half of the year for costs related to defending the former president, his aides and other allies, according to a person familiar with the filing who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the deadline. The number was first reported by The Washington Post. At the same time, Trump's allies are creating a new legal defense fund that will help pay the soaring legal fees as Trump faces dozens of criminal charges stemming from indictments in New York and Florida, with more expected as soon as this week. The Patriot Legal Defence Fund, as it is called, is intended to raise money to defray costs for those defending against legal actions ...

Bar Council of Delhi suspends 15 lawyers' licence in Tis Hazari firing case

The Council had constituted a committee to look into the incident and sought a report. The committee analysed several video clips to reach a conclusion

SC protects woman lawyer from arrest in FIR lodged by Manipur Police

The Supreme Court on Tuesday protected a woman lawyer from arrest in connection with an FIR lodged by the Manipur Police for her visit to the strife-hit state as part of a fact-finding mission. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior lawyer Siddharth Dave, appearing for advocate Deeksha Dwivedi, while protecting her from arrest and listed her plea for further hearing this Friday. The bench, also comprising justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra, asked Dave to provide a copy of the petition to the counsel assisting Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is representing the Manipur government in a batch of petitions pertaining to the ethnic violence in the state. Dwivedi was part of a three-member fact-finding team of a women lawyers' association, the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). The woman lawyer was on a fact-finding mission on the Manipur violence and an FIR was registered by the state police invoking various penal provisio

No adverse order by SC today if lawyers absent due to rain in Delhi: CJI

CJI DY Chandrachud stated as much after considering the requests of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association

CLAT-24 advanced exam impossible in regional languages: NLUs tell HC

The Consortium of National Law Universities has told Delhi High Court that preparations for CLAT - 2024 are at an advanced stage and any judicial order compelling the introduction of additional language options this year, without discussions, will result in serious administrative and operational issues. The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted in English at present. The exam for the 2024 academic year is scheduled for December. The consortium said it has constituted an expert committee of vice-chancellors of five member National Law Universities (NLUs) to study the issue of offering the exam in additional languages and to prepare a comprehensive roadmap after reviewing stakeholder viewpoints and potential constraints. The submission was made in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the conduct of CLAT - 2024 in regional languages as well. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the expert committee, constituted to conside

Govt plans to ask lawyers to report clients' dubious transactions

The authorities believe the plan will help in faster recognition of dubious transactions involving shell companies and money laundering

Lawyers' body calls for changes in elevation process of judges to SC, HC

A lawyers' body on Thursday called for changes in the manner in which judges are elevated to the Supreme Court and high courts, saying their appointments and elevations should be made "solely on the basis of merit". Adish C Aggarwala, chairman of the All India Bar Association, while speaking to the media here also said that court proceedings should ideally be video-recorded and that the retirement age of judges in the apex court, high courts and the subordinate judiciary should be raised. He also said that retired judges should not be appointed to any tribunal or commissions. On the issue of appointing judges to high courts, Aggarwala was also against chief justices of high courts being chosen from the high courts of other states. "Chief justices coming from other states may be not in a position to make just and proper administrative decisions, as they are usually unaware of the local factors," he contended.

Deutsche Bank to pay $75 mn to settle lawsuit from Epstein victims: Lawyers

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay USD 75 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that the German lender should have seen evidence of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein when he was a client, according to lawyers for women who say they were abused by the late financier. A woman only identified as Jane Doe sued the bank in federal district court in New York and sought class-action status to represent other victims of Epstein. The lawsuit asserted that the bank knowingly benefitted from Epstein's sex trafficking and chose profit over following the law to earn millions of dollars from the businessman. One of the law firms representing victims in the case, Edwards Pottinger, said it believed the sex-trafficking settlement is likely the largest with a bank in US history. "This groundbreaking settlement is the culmination of two law firms conducting more than a decade-long investigation to hold one of Epstein's financial banking partners responsible for the role it played in facilitating his ...

Delhi HC issues contempt notice to lawyer accusing judge of dishonesty

Delhi High Court issued criminal contempt of court notice to advocate Ravi Kumar and his client after they alleged that a single-judge bench had "dishonestly" passed an order against them

SC pulls up Sukesh over plea seeking extension to meet lawyers in jail

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rapped alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar for filing a plea seeking extension of time to meet and consult his lawyers in the Mandoli jail here. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi said visitation is already being provided to Chandrasekhar as per prison rules. "You give the name of the lawyers, we will ask the jail authorities to allow your lawyers stay in the jail. What kind of statement you are making in this court? Do you want a privilege in jail? the bench remarked. The counsel appearing for Chandrasekhar submitted that 28 cases are pending against his client in six cities and more than 10 lawyers have been engaged. According to jail rules, only 30 minutes twice a week is being given to meet lawyers, which is not sufficient, his lawyer said, adding his client's right is being contravened. The apex court then said in its order, "It is not is dispute that visitation is provided to the petitioner in compliance of jail rules. What is be

Cartier's use of Amazon tribe's images prompts lawyers to allege hypocrisy

Until two months ago, Cartier's website showed Yanomami children playing in a green field. The French luxury jewellery brand said it was working to promote the culture of the Indigenous people and protect the rainforest where they live, in a vast territory straddling Brazil and Venezuela. But the project that the site described protecting the Amazon never took place. And Cartier published the photo without the approval of Yanomami leadership, violating the beliefs of a people who had been living in almost total isolation until they were contacted by outsiders in the 1970s. Some of the Yanomami and their defenders praise Cartier's promotion of Yanomami causes. However, advertising by one of the world's biggest jewellers with images of an Indigenous people devastated by illegal gold mining has some complaining of greenwashing, a corporation promoting its own image by supporting a cause. How can a gold jewellery company, which we, the Yanomami people, are against, use the image of the

Veteran corporate lawyer Rajiv Luthra passes away: A look at his legacy

A first-generation lawyer, Rajiv Luthra set up the law firm Luthra and Luthra in 1989. The firm burnished its reputation by pioneering taxation and corporate law in India

SC censures Bar association for obstructing lawyers as volunteers

The CJI also said that denying someone legal aid amounted to criminal contempt

BCD to reconsider notification making ID with NCR address compulsory

An advocate and Delhi University alumna has filed a plea before the high court challenging the BCD's notification

SC must let legislature decide on same-sex marriage: Bar associations

The coordination committee of all district court bar associations of Delhi said on Monday the issue of same-sex marriage being heard by the Supreme Court should instead be decided the legislature. The apex court is hearing a clutch of petitions seeking legal sanction for marriage between homosexual couples. In a resolution, the committee said the social ramifications of the ongoing proceedings before the SC are colossal and have the potential for an unintended impact on the social fabric. It is important that issues that have the potential to affect society at large are discussed and debated in the Parliament where elected representatives can take into account the views and concerns of their constituents, the resolution said. It said the issue is deeply entrenched in societal norms, values, and beliefs and a decision made in isolation, without the benefit of the view of the society, is likely to be ineffective and may even be counterproductive. The resolution also said the issue .

Lawyers can't go on strike or abstain from judicial works, says SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said lawyers cannot go on strike or abstain from work and directed all high courts to constitute grievance redressal committee at the state level headed by the chief justice, where advocates could make representations for redressal of "genuine problems". A bench headed by Justices MR Shah and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said that a separate grievance redressal committees be constituted at district court level to provide a forum, where lawyers could seek redressal of their genuine grievances related to procedural changes in filing or listing of cases or misbehavior of member of lower judiciary. "We once again reiterate that no member of the bar can go on strike...Time and again this court has emphasised that advocates going on strike or abstaining from their work hampers judicial work", the bench said. The court disposed of an application filed by District Bar Association of Dehradun seeking an appropriate forum for redressal of their complaints and directed th

Entry of foreign law firms in India: A move that may change the landscape

In India, the legal profession is regulated by the Advocates Act of 1961, which prohibits foreign law firms from practicing law or establishing offices here

Supreme Court panel to oversee verification of over 2.5 million lawyers

The Supreme Court Monday ordered setting up of a high-powered committee headed by former apex court judge Justice Deepak Gupta to monitor the process of verification of certificate of law practice and other educational degrees of over 25 lakh lawyers in the country, saying it was of utmost importance to preserve the administration of justice. The move comes amid allegations of lawyers with fake degrees practising in courts across the country. Asking lawyers to participate in the exercise, the bench said non-verification of advocates, intended to weed out the fake ones, will bring the administration of justice under serious cloud. The verification of lawyers' degree and certificate to practice is of utmost importance to preserve the administration of justice, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chadrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said. Besides Justice Gupta, the committee will comprise former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and retired Allahabad Hi

Lawyers' delegation meets Delhi CM Kejriwal, seeks law for their protection

Expressing concern over their safety, a delegation of the city's lawyers on Saturday met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and pressed for an act for their protection. The delegation, including members of the coordination committees of district bar associations, claimed that various cases of assault on lawyers have taken place in recent weeks. It pointed to the murder of advocate Virendra Kumar Narwal earlier this month and pressed for a "Delhi Advocate Protection Act". Kejriwal, on his part, assured the delegation of extending all possible support within the Delhi government jurisdiction, according to a statement. The lawyers' delegation claimed that there is a long history of murders, violent attacks, intimidation and damage to property of advocates. They also raised concerns regarding alleged cases of false implications against lawyers and sought the passage of a bill for their protection, the statement said. It said a draft of a proposed bill seeks to ensure adequate prote