IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO.4013 OF 2001

S.L. Jaiswal     ...Appellant(s)

Versus

Disciplinary Committee, Bar Council of India     ...Respondent(s)

O  R  D  E  R

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

By  the  impugned  order,  the  Disciplinary  Committee  of  Bar  Council  of  India

(hereinafter  referred  to  as  “the  Disciplinary  Committee”)  imposed  punishment  of

censure  on  the  appellant  and  also  directed  him to  pay  a  sum of  Rupees  twenty

thousand as cost to be paid to the Bar Council  of Maharashtra and Goa within a

period of six months with a stipulation if he fails to do so then his license shall remain

suspended for a period of two years.   

A  perusal  of  the  impugned  order  shows  that  the  complainant  did  not

adduce  any  evidence  in  support  of  the  allegation  leveled  against  the  appellant.

Notwithstanding this,  the Disciplinary  Committee punished him by observing that

something fishy was going on between the parties.  In our  view,  the  Disciplinary

Committee was not justified in

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finding  the  appellant  guilty  on  the  basis  of  suspicion  and  pure  surmises  and

conjectures.

Accordingly, the appeal is allowed and impugned order is set aside.

No costs.   

......................J.       [B.N. AGRAWAL]

......................J.       [G.S. SINGHVI]

New Delhi, January 22, 2009.