The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana’s Privilege Committee has given a clean chit to 17 lawyers and M3M directors in the alleged bench hunting case before the High Court, citing no evidence of wrongdoing. The committee said media reports misrepresented the court proceedings and found “no mala fide intent” among those involved.
The Privilege Committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana has given a clean chit to all the lawyers and other people who were earlier issued notices in the alleged “bench hunting” case before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In its order dated October 28, the Chandigarh-based body said,
“The Committee finds no reason to suspect any mala fide intent on the part of the lawyers and litigants involved in these proceedings.”
The issue began in August, when the State Bar Council sent notices to more than 19 lawyers and two Directors of the real estate company M3M. The controversy was linked to a petition filed by M3M Director Roop Bansal, who is a co-accused in a judicial officer bribery case.
The matter made headlines in May when Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court removed the case from Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, who had already heard it at length and reserved it for judgment. Following complaints, Chief Justice Nagu decided to hear the case himself.
However, after hearing it for some time, he later recused himself, saying that he had already dealt with the matter on the administrative side by delisting it from Justice Sindhu. Many other judges had also recused themselves earlier from hearing Bansal’s plea.
During a hearing in May, Chief Justice Nagu had reportedly hinted at possible “bench hunting” when he said that a particular lawyer was taken as the filing counsel only to get the case delisted from a specific judge.
Senior lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mukul Rohatgi, Puneet Bali, and Rakesh Nehra appeared for the businessman on different dates.
After the Chief Justice’s remarks were reported in the media, the Bar Council Chairman directed the Privilege Committee to take up the matter immediately and submit a report after conducting proceedings on a day-to-day basis.
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Soon after, Bali, Nehra, and at least 17 other lawyers along with M3M Directors Roop Bansal and Yateesh Wahal were issued notices.
The notice stated that it
“is very painful and disturbing”
to discuss how
“tactfully, systematically and in an organized manner, some of the advocates made efforts to hunt the Bench.”
After initial hearings, the Committee gave a clean chit to Bali and Nehra in August itself. In its final decision, the Committee said it found no proof of any coordinated or deliberate effort by any lawyer or litigant to influence the bench or get a favorable order.
It stated,
“After an exhaustive review of written responses, statements, WhatsApp messages, emails, and multiple rounds of interaction with individuals connected to the matter—both legal professionals and associates—the Committee found no credible evidence of any coordinated effort or manipulation aimed at securing a favorable order from a particular bench.”
The Committee also said that media reports which carried the Chief Justice’s oral remarks did not have any evidentiary value.
The official court order, it said, contained no reference or observation suggesting that any lawyer or litigant had engaged in bench hunting or forum shopping.
The Committee noted,
“Despite this, certain media outlets published reports implying that the Hon’ble Chief Justice had hinted at such conduct. A careful reading of the judicial order reveals no such remarks. These articles are factually incorrect and misrepresent the proceedings. The allegations raised by some Bar Council members appear to be based solely on these unverified media reports, which lack any evidentiary value and are not supported by the judicial record.”
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The Committee went on to appreciate the cooperation extended by all involved in the inquiry, including lawyers and M3M Directors.
It said,
“All individuals involved cooperated fully with the inquiry and participated without reservation,”
while also appreciating the support of Bali, Nehra, Senior Advocate RS Rai, and Advocate Vijay Aggarwal during the process.
With the final report now submitted to the Bar Council Chairman, the matter stands officially closed.
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