Advocate committed fraud with court to get bail – Contempt Notice – Allahabad HC

An application filed under Section 439(2) of the Cr.P.C., seeking the cancellation of an order dated 22.3.2022 that had granted bail to the accused-respondent in a criminal case.

Allahabad Court finds that the accused's counsel, Sri Parmanand Gupta, had deliberately styled the bail application as the first bail application, when in fact it was the second, in order to obtain a favorable order from the court.

This fact was noticed by the court, which subsequently issued a show cause notice to Gupta for committing contempt of the court and for playing fraud with the court.

The court noted that Gupta had conducted himself in a manner that was against the Bar Council Rules and professional ethics and had played fraud with the court by concealing the material fact that the accused's first bail application had been rejected by another bench of the court. The court also kept the order dated 22.3.2022 in abeyance and directed the state to arrest the accused-respondent if he had been released on bail.

Finally, the court cancelled the order dated 22.3.2022 and ordered that the accused-respondent be taken into custody. The court also prima facie held Gupta guilty of committing contempt of the court and playing fraud with the court and directed him to reply to the show cause notice within two weeks.

This judgment serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the dignity and integrity of the court and the responsibility of lawyers to adhere to the Bar Council Rules and professional ethics.

State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy  vs  Mohd. Rizwan @ Raziwan