The Supreme Court has reprimanded a female lawyer for having an affair with her divorce client. The court raised questions on his professional conduct. This comment was made during the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of a client in a sexual harassment case filed by the lawyer.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has taken strong exception to a woman lawyer’s romantic relationship with her male client, who had come to her for legal advice in a divorce case. The court reprimanded the woman lawyer and asked whether it was right for her to do so as a woman lawyer, and questioned her professional conduct. The comments came when the court was hearing the anticipatory bail plea of a London-based man. The petitioner had approached the Supreme Court to avoid arrest in a sexual harassment case filed by a woman lawyer. While hearing this case, the court expressed strong objection to the behavior of the lawyer.
Lawyer builds relationship with client who came seeking help in divorce case
The court asked how did you get into this dilemma and also expressed surprise and disappointment that a woman lawyer has such a relationship with her own client. Justice B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan’s bench questioned the lawyer as to whether as a lawyer he is expected to maintain professional boundaries. Especially if the person is still going through the divorce process. The court asked how in such a situation the 36 year old lawyer developed a personal relationship with the person who had come for legal help.
The Supreme Court judge said- How can you do this?
The judges said, ‘She is a lawyer, she is handling the divorce case of the petitioner. How can she do this in such a situation, we did not expect this from you. On this, the female lawyer tried to defend herself and said that she had only given him legal advice and had not appeared in the court on his behalf. The court objected to this and said, ‘Even though you have not used your lawyer’s name in the case, by getting personally involved you have participated as a legal advisor.’
Meanwhile, Rishi Malhotra, counsel for the person who had applied for anticipatory bail, drew the court’s attention to the serious allegations against the complainant. He argued that this was not an isolated incident, and told the court that the woman had filed four similar cases of sexual harassment against different people. Malhotra said that earlier the Bombay High Court had also taken note of his behavior and had ordered an investigation into the matter.
He told the court, ‘It was a love affair, I cannot testify as to what happened between the lovers.’ However, the Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s attempt to declare the person applying for anticipatory bail as a fugitive or a proclaimed offender. The court made it clear that since the person was already living in London before the dispute started, such an allegation could not be made.
Talking on this matter, Justice Nagarathna questioned how right is it for a female lawyer to have a personal relationship with her divorce client. ‘He should have known that he cannot marry our party until the divorce decision comes. She is not an uneducated, innocent girl, she is a lawyer, who is handling the divorce case of the petitioner,’ the court said. Also, the court seriously advised him to come out of these complications and focus on his career. The next hearing of this case will be held tomorrow.