The Delhi High Court raised concerns about non-lawyers representing people in consumer cases. It stressed that only qualified legal professionals should handle such cases to maintain the fairness of the judicial process. The court’s view is to ensure consumer matters are dealt with by trained experts. This highlights the importance of following proper legal standards in representation.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court expressed strong disapproval of non-advocates and agents representing litigants in consumer courts based on authorization letters.
Justice Sanjeev Narula stated that this practice undermines the legal and ethical duties associated with the role of an advocate and raises significant concerns regarding professional privilege and confidentiality, as these individuals are not governed by the Advocates Act of 1961.
The court emphasized,
“This is fundamentally inconsistent with the Advocates Act, 1961, which exclusively vests these functions in enrolled advocates.”
It highlighted a case where an advocate had improperly delegated essential professional responsibilities such as signing documents, receiving communications, and arguing cases to a non-advocate.
In an order issued on December 23, the court instructed all consumer courts in Delhi to ensure that parties are represented either by advocates or strictly regulated agents/non-advocates. The high court noted that the practice allowing non-advocates to appear based on authorization letters must cease immediately.
The ruling arose from a petition filed by practicing advocates registered with the Bar Council of Delhi, who raised concerns about the increasing trend of non-advocates appearing in consumer courts without proper authorization, thereby violating the Consumer Protection (Procedure for Regulation of Allowing Appearance of Agents or Representatives or Non-Advocates or Voluntary Organisations before the Consumer Forum Regulations, 2014.
The court issued notices to the Lieutenant Governor, the Delhi government, the Bar Council of India, and the Bar Council of Delhi, seeking their responses. The Lieutenant Governor and Delhi government were represented by additional standing counsel Anuj Aggarwal, while the Bar Council of Delhi was represented by advocate T Singhdev.
Furthermore, the court directed state consumer commissions and district consumer forums to provide details of pending cases involving non-advocate representation and requested the Bar Councils to submit counter-affidavits on the matter.
A hearing scheduled for March 18, 2025.
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