NEW DELHI: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has asked the Delhi bar council to examine lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan’s tweets that led to Supreme Court’s order convicting him for contempt of court. The Bar Council of a state grants licence to a person to practice as a lawyer and has powers such as suspending or taking away the right of its members in certain situations to practice under the Advocates Act, 1961.
“The General Council of the Bar Council of India has unanimously resolved to direct the Bar Council of Delhi, where Prashant Bhushan is enrolled as an Advocate, to examine the matter and proceed as per law and rules to decide the same as expeditiously as possible,” a BCI statement said.
“The Council is of the view that the tweets and statements made by Prashant Bhushan… needs thorough study and examination by the Bar Council in the light of the statutory duties, powers and functions conferred on it under the Advocates Act, 1961 and the rules framed thereunder, particularly, Section 24A and Section 35 of the Advocates Act and Chapter-ll, Part-Vl of Bar Council of India Rules,” the statement read.
According to Section 24A of the Act, an advocate can be disqualified while Section 35 pertains to punishment for misconduct. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra (now retired) recently convicted Bhushan of contempt of court for his tweets against the judiciary. As a punishment, he was fined `1 and directed to deposit the amount with the SC registry by September 15, failing which he would have to undergo three-month jail term and debarred from law practice for three years.