JOIN USLawyers must not shy away from defending: SC
Such refusals will be in violation of the Constitution, Bar Council norms and tenets of the Bhagavad Gita, a Bench comprising justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra said.
Deploring the growing tendency among Bar associations across the country to pass resolutions against appearing for certain accused persons, the Bench said: “Professional ethics requires that a lawyer cannot refuse a brief, provided a client is willing to pay his fee and the lawyer is not otherwise engaged.
“Hence, the action of any Bar association in passing such a resolution that none of its members will appear for a particular accused, whether on the ground that he is a policeman or on the ground that he is a suspected terrorist, rapist and mass murderer is against all norms of the Constitution, statutes and professional ethics.
“It is against the great traditions of the Bar that has always stood up for defending persons accused for a crime. Such a resolution is, in fact, a disgrace to the legal community. We declare that all such resolutions of Bar associations in India are null and void and right-minded lawyers should ignore and defy such resolutions if they want democracy and rule of the law to be upheld in this country.”
The Bench added, “It is the duty of a lawyer to defend no matter what the consequences and a lawyer, who refuses to do so, is not following the message of the Gita.”