SC refuses to stay HC order debarring Anand, I U Khan

NEW DELHI: Senior advocates R K Anand and I U Khan, debarred by the Delhi High Court for four months after being "caught" in the BMW sting operation case, today failed to receive any reprieve from the Supreme Court, which refrained from staying the order.

A bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi also told the two counsel that the High Court had the power to strip them of their senior advocate status.

"The High Court has the power. It is competent to pass the order," the bench said while rejecting the arguments of senior counsel and former judge of the Delhi High Court R S Sodhi, who on behalf of Anand submitted that the power to strip the advocates of their seniority status was vested with only the Bar Council of India.

When the counsel argued that it would cause "irreparable damage" to the counsel, the bench remarked, "Its only a question of fees."

Sodhi, along with another senior counsel P P Rao argued that the High Court had no power to debar an advocate from practising. They cited a particularly "ruling" passed by the Supreme Court in a similar case wherein they claimed it was ruled that courts have no power to debar an advocate.

To this the bench asked the counsel to furnish the relevant details and place it on record, and said it cannot go by the mere submissions of the defence.

Defence counsel Anand and then Special Public Prosecutor I U Khan, had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court verdict which convicted them for obstructing administration of justice by influencing a key witness in the BMW hit-and-run case.