Premium

Not lawyer’s duty to verify truthfulness of client’s instructions: Delhi High Court

It is for the learned court – not lawyers – to decide on the assertions made by the parties in the form of pleadings or while setting up a case, the Delhi High Court held in a plea alleging professional misconduct.

3 min readDelhiUpdated: Aug 23, 2025 09:45 AM IST

Not lawyer's duty to verify truthfulness of client’s instructions: Delhi High Court

The observation recorded came in an appeal against a single judge’s order by a litigant Chand Mehra who had alleged professional misconduct on the part of the lawyers. (File Photo)

The Delhi High Court Thursday held that it is not part of a lawyer’s duty to verify the authenticity of the instructions they receive from clients.

The observation recorded by a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela came in an appeal against a single judge’s order by a litigant Chand Mehra who had alleged professional misconduct on the part of the lawyers engaged by the respondent parties in respect of certain legal proceedings initiated against him under provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The bench recorded, “An Advocate is bound by the instructions given to him by his client and it does not form part of his duty to verify the truthfulness or veracity of such instructions especially for the reason that the assertions made by the parties before the Court in the form of pleadings or setting up a case are to be decided by the learned Court concerned in the proceedings and not by the lawyers representing the respective parties.”

The legal fraternity had recently criticised the move of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which had in June sent summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to senior advocates Pratap Venugopal and Arvind Datar in connection with a case in which they had rendered legal advice.

Mehra, in his appeal before the division bench, challenged the orders of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and the Bar Council of India (BCI) which had dismissed his complaint against the respondent parties’ lawyers. He had contended that the lawyers “ought to have ascertained the facts with due diligence and only after verification could have contested the matter on behalf of their respective client”.

Upholding the single judge’s decision earlier in April, the division bench too refused to interfere with the decision of the Bar bodies.

The division bench’s ruling, reiterated the BCI’s stance wherein while dealing with a complaint and observing that no case of professional misconduct was made out against the lawyers, it had held in November 2024 that under BCI rules, it is the duty of the advocate “to act on the instructions of their clients and that an advocate cannot sit and make an investigation of their client’s case before representing such client” in courts.

Story continues below this ad

The BCI had also held that an advocate cannot be prosecuted for the reason that his client’s case was false.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
delhi high court

Loading Recommendations...

Mar 14: Latest News

Live Blog