Suspension of District Bar Assn chief’s licence stayed

The order of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana (BCPH) suspending the licence of Rohit Khullar, president of District Bar Association, Chandigarh, for six months and imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him has been stayed by the Bar Council of India (BCI).

The disciplinary committee of the BCI has granted the stay in an interim order passed today on an appeal filed by Khullar challenging the May 5 order of the BCPH.

In a complaint filed before the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, Dipinder Singh Brar, a resident of Sector 5 here, had stated that he had engaged advocate Khullar for filing a recovery suit against some farmers who had fraudulently taken money from him on account of sale of property. The complainant stated that in March 2021, the respondent filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court without his instructions.

In reply to the disciplinary committee of the council, Khullar denied all allegations and stated that a complaint filed by the complainant’s daughter earlier was withdrawn by her on April 15, 2023.

After hearing of the arguments, the disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana stated that “...the respondent number 1 (Rohit Khullar), despite having knowledge that the complainant and Vikramjit Kaushik & others had different interests and even while standing as a counsel for the complainant, accepted the brief of the opposite party and further filed a petition in the High Court without the complainant’s knowledge and permission. Therefore, we hold the respondent number 1 guilty of professional misconduct and accordingly his licence is hereby ordered to be suspended for six months.”