Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana gives clean chit to senior advocates Puneet Bali, Rakesh Nehra

The Privilege Committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana has given clean chit to two senior advocates. Puneet Bali and Rakesh Nehra, and their associates in its ongoing probe into the alleged case of “bench hunting” at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In the order, the committee, headed by Raj Kumar Chauhan, said no material had surfaced against them or their associates.

It says in their respective replies, Nehra and Bali categorically submitted that the petition was neither filed from their offices nor by any advocate working therein. Both senior advocates stated before the committee that even the earlier petition had not been filed from their offices and that they had only been engaged in the said petition subsequent to its filing.

They clarified that their associates had appeared solely to assist them and had no role in the filing of the present petition.

The order further says that upon a perusal of the records and replies, the committee is of the considered view that further assistance from the offices of Nehra and Bali is not required in the present inquiry. No material has surfaced against them or their associate advocates namely Sauhard Singh, Rupender Singh, Bindu Tanwar, Ankit Yadav Anmol Chandan, Gagandeep Singh and Aakash Sharma.

On the contrary, both senior advocates have extended full cooperation throughout, reflecting their commitment to transparency, integrity and the highest standards of professional ethics. The Committee, therefore, records that the reputation and integrity of Nehra and Bali, along with their associates, remain untarnished, and no further information is required from their offices.

The committee observed that it has also come to its notice that several advocates appearing for Roop Bansal were engaged by Gulshan and Siddhrath Bhardwaj, both practising in Delhi, and appearing in matters concerning Bansal before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It is significant that the information relating to restriction of listing of certain advocates’ cases before particular Benches is not in the public domain.

Many advocates, whose names appeared in such orders, were themselves unaware of this fact. However, Gulshan and Siddhrath were found to be surprisingly well aware of such restrictions. Therefore, the committee deems it appropriate to issue notices to both of them through the Secretary, Bar Council of Delhi, where they are enrolled, directing their personal appearance along with a written response on the next date of hearing.

The committee further says that it cannot ignore the larger issue exposed through this inquiry. The strategy of "Bench Hunting" appears to have been orchestrated by vested interests forming a clandestine nexus among certain elements of the real estate, financial and industrial sectors.

The Committee, in pursuit of fairness and accountability, invites any advocate, affected person or member of the public to provide relevant information, complaints or material regarding unethical practices in this regard.

The hearing was adjourned to August 27.