Whether Advocate can claim fees on Percentage On Permanent Alimony Given To His Client?
It prima facie appears that the petitioner has
completely betrayed the trust reposed in him by the victim. He
has even gone to the extent of claiming percentage on the
permanent alimony given to the victim which is illegal. The
Bombay High Court in Re: K.L. Gauba reported in A.I.R. 1954
Bombay 478 held that fees conditional on the success of a case
and which gives the lawyer an interest in the subject matter
tends to undermine the status of the profession. The same has
always been condemned as unworthy of the legal profession. If
an advocate has interest in success of litigation, he may tend to
depart from ethics. In the case of Mr. ‘G’., A Senior Advocate
of the Supreme Court reported in (1955) 1 Supreme Court
Reporter 490, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the claim of
an advocate based on a share in the subject matter is a
professional misconduct. In case of B. Sunitha -Vrs.- The
State of Telengana and Ors. reported in (2018) 69 Orissa
Criminal Reports (SC) 400, it is held that claim based on
percentage of subject matter in litigation cannot be the basis of a
complaint under section 138 of the N.I. Act.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA: CUTTACK
ABLAPL No. 5399 of 2017
An application under section 438 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure in connection with C.T. case No. 2702 of 2016 pending
in the Court of S.D.J.M., Bhubaneswar.
Sanjaya Narayan Sahoo Vs State of Odisha
P R E S E N T:
MR. JUSTICE S.K. SAHOO
Date of Order: 01.05.2018
