Bar Council Probes Banks for Alleged Unethical Practices in Court Fee Handling

The Privilege Committee of the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana has issued summonses to the Chairpersons of HDFC, ICICI, and Axis Banks over allegations that they instructed their panel lawyers to cover court fees for filing cases in the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Chandigarh.

According to reports, the fees amount to lakhs of rupees, and the banks purportedly only reimburse the lawyers after several months.

The complaint was filed by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) Bar Association, Chandigarh, urging the council to take action against the banks to halt what they termed an “unethical practice.”

The association argues that the exorbitant court fees, which can run into lakhs, are beyond the means of most lawyers. They contend that banks and their officials have no authority to demand that their empaneled advocates cover court fees for filing cases in the DRT, Chandigarh.

Furthermore, the DRT Bar Association asserts that this practice not only violates the Advocates Act, 1961, particularly Section 30, regarding the privileges, rights, and duties of advocates but also undermines the rights and privileges as outlined in BCI Rules.

The Privilege Committee, consisting of Chairman Lekh Raj Sharma and Members Raja Gautama and Karanjit Singh, expressed concern that this practice, if widespread, contravenes the Advocates Act, 1961, and disadvantages young advocates.

They argue that such unethical practices could lead to a monopoly of legal work by wealthy advocates, stifling the opportunities for less affluent but talented advocates.

In response, the Committee has summoned the Chairpersons of HDFC, ICICI, and Axis Bank, warning that failure to cooperate will be interpreted as an admission of the unethical practice, and further action will be taken accordingly, in accordance with the law.