The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that banks cannot blacklist an advocate for "negligent legal advice" as any disciplinary action against a lawyer can be taken only by the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India under the Advocates Act 1961.
A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe passed the judgment while setting aside an Allahabad High Court ruling which had earlier upheld the decision of the Indian Bank Association (IBA) to put Ajay Vijh, a panel advocate of Canara Bank, on the "caution list", as his legal advice to the bank had allegedly caused a financial loss to the banker.
The court, while ruling that the IBA or banks have no power to initiate disciplinary action against advocates, directed the Bar Council of India, the official regulator for lawyers and legal education, to set up a legal academy on the lines of the National Judicial Academy to impart post-enrolment training to advocates.
"It is necessary to establish a full-time academy, which may be called the National Legal Academy for lawyers, like the National Judicial Academy that has been established for training and capacity building for judges. Such an institution would enable post-enrolment structural learning, enhance professional competence, ethical awareness, technological adaptability and long-term planning and corroboration. The Bar Council must invest its time and energy in institutionalising this body," the court said.