The Delhi High Court has directed the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) to take action against lawyer Sanjay Aggarwal if found guilty of "manufacturing" an order purportedly passed by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in 2016.
A division bench discharged the clients who engaged the lawyer, provided they tendered an unconditional apology for any inconvenience caused, with an undertaking to exercise caution when filing documents in judicial proceedings in the future.
The suo motu criminal contempt petition arose when doubts were cast on the authenticity of the IPAB order during proceedings before a single judge dealing with a trademark infringement suit.
The court directed an inquiry, and upon finding no records to support the existence of the 2016 order, referred the matter to a division bench for contempt action against the respondents in the suit.
In response, an unconditional apology affidavit was submitted by the contemnor, outlining the circumstances of receiving the order copy from the lawyer engaged before the IPAB.
The affidavit clarified that the lawyer provided what was purported to be a copy of the IPAB order, and upon discovering its falsification, the contemnor filed a complaint with the Bar Council of Delhi against the lawyer.
The bench, taking note of the apology and the undertaking for future diligence, discharged the clients but directed the Bar Council to take appropriate action against the lawyer if found guilty of manufacturing the IPAB order.
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