Lawyers should stop arguing once court indicates its mind: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that orderly and dignified functioning of the court would be possible only when Bench and Bar move in symphony, as it emphasised that the lawyers should stop arguing the matter when the court indicated its mind.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the court is always mindful of the submissions advanced and does not dismiss the matters without careful examination.

"It must be appreciated that once the court has indicated its mind and requested the counsel to refrain from further submissions, the same is expected to be respected. Orders are passed by the court only after due consideration," the bench said.

The court underscored, continued insistence thereafter by the counsel, especially after the court expressed its inclination, served no purpose and affected decorum of proceedings.

"There needs to be a balance in the duty that advocate has towards his/her client and the court. The orderly and dignified functioning of the court is best ensured when the Bench and the Bar move in symphony with each other," the bench said.

On an application filed by State Election Commission, Uttarakhand, the court modified its September 26, 2025 order by deleting adverse remarks against the counsel and cost of Rs two lakh.

The court's order came as the counsel expressed "an unconditional and bona fide apology".

SCBA president senior advocate Vikas Singh and SCAORA president Vipin Nair also assured the court that this would not happen again.

"Considering the unqualified and unconditional apology tendered by the counsel and this being his first such incident before this bench, we are inclined to allow the application with a caution that such conduct should not be repeated in future," the bench said.

On September 26, the bench noted in its order, "Despite our communicating to the counsel that the matter does not deserve any interference at least six times the counsel continued to insist that this court must pass some order. We are pained at this approach and accordingly, the petition stands dismissed with cost of Rs two lakh to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within four weeks."