The Punjab and Haryana Bar Council has issued notice to 16 lawyers to investigate the allegations of alleged bench hunting (trying to influence judges) in the Roop Bansal case. This includes the names of Senior Advocate Rakesh Nehra, Senior Advocate Puneet Bali, Advocate J.K. Singla, Siddharth Bhardwaj, Advocate Aditya Agarwal, Gagandeep Singh, Anmol Chandan, Advocate Baljeet Beniwal, Harsh Sharma, Sauhard Singh, Rupendra Singh, Ankit Yadav, Ashim Singla, Akash Sharma, Bindu, APS Shergill.
The Privileges Committee of the Council has taken suo motu cognizance of this serious incident and said that it is their responsibility to protect the dignity of the judiciary and the ethics of the profession. The committee admitted that the allegations are serious and prima facie there has been an attempt by some lawyers to influence the court by manipulating the procedural rules. In particular, Advocate J.K. Singla has been suspected of planning the entire case, and it has been said that this may not be a single act but an organized trickery. The committee is of the prima facie opinion that there appears to be a mess on the part of some lawyers appearing for Roop Bansal, a leading real estate builder. It appears that these lawyers may have manipulated the procedural rules for convenience and benefit.
This case is related to the alleged attempt to bribe a lower court judge by Roop Bansal in 2023, the FIR of which is still pending in the High Court. The accused lawyers will be heard before the committee on August 16. The Bar Council has made it clear that it will fulfill its responsibility towards the dignity and justice of the profession and will not tolerate any indiscipline.
