Supreme Court Bar Association Plagued Internally, Says President Of Lawyers’ Body

The Supreme Court Bar Association is internally plagued by a “turbulent state of affairs” with allegations of unauthorised use of funds, misuse of organisations name and rifts between members, its president Rakesh Khanna said on Monday.

In a letter to the members of the apex court advocates' body, Khanna said it had been projected that a recently held legal conference by a media house was organised in partnership with SCBA but the Bar's Executive Committee had not, at any point, resolved to be a partner to any such conference.

Khanna clarified that SCBA, in its resolution dated April 11, 2019, had specifically resolved that decisions taken by its sub-committee will have to be placed before the Executive Committee for approval before execution.

“No such resolution or decision had been placed before the EC for any such permission/partnership in a conference organised by...to be held in Mumbai nor did the EC at any point of time resolve to be a partner to any such conference,” Khanna's letter said. “The information about this programme was never communicated to me or to the members of SCBA.”

Khanna further said some members have even expressed their resentment over the whole issue by asking how much money has SCBA taken to lend its name.

He said that apex court judge Justice NV Ramana and other dignitaries, who were present at the legal conference, were completely misled in as far as association of SCBA with the media house for the conference was concerned.

“Your discontent and resentment has been noticed by me and some members have even gone to the extent of venting out their anger by asking how much money has SCBA taken to lend its name. As the president of SCBA, I concur with and join you all in the resentment and anguish against the manner in which the SCBA platform has been exploited and misused,” he said.

The use of SCBA's name and its logo without intimation or consent of the Executive Committee is completely “unauthorised, unethical and illegal”, he said.

He also pointed out the issue of unauthorised payment of SCBA funds of several lakhs for which an enquiry committee has been constituted and said that all kinds of efforts were put to disband the committee.

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