The HC transfers the charge of head of the bar body to the vice-president

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has entrusted the charge of President of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association (PHHCBA) to Vice President Jasdev Singh Brar and Joint Secretary Parveen Dahiya .

The High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal stayed the Bar Council of India (BCI) order of September 2024, through which it had intervened in the Bar Council’s decision of Punjab and Haryana (BCPH) to temporarily remove the President, Vikas Malik. .

The court made the order because it believed that the orders issued by BCI suffered prima facie from “jurisdictional error.”

Malik was charged in a criminal case by the Chandigarh police on July 1 following a complaint by lawyer Ranjit Singh, who had alleged that he was attacked by a group, including Malik, at the bar office. Later, the police added sections of the SC/ST Act and bid to murder in the FIR, and arrested him. He was granted bail in August.

Brar is among five petitioners who have called for an investigation into allegations of squandering the bar’s funds.

Allegations of embezzlement and complaints of sexual harassment are being investigated by the BCPH. It was during these proceedings that the BCPH asked Malik to temporarily step down, before the order was suspended by the BCI.