Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra has sent an email today to Legally India editor Kian Ganz, who is a German national. Mishra has requested we publish his email in full without edits.
His email follows a request for comment to him we made on 13 September, before publishing a story on how the elected terms of at least 10 BCI members - more than half of the BCI’s members – had expired, with no prospect of new state bar council elections held any time soon.
The reason the BCI had given the Supreme Court for suspending state bar council elections, was the BCI’s verification drive under the Bar Council of India (BCI) (Certificate of Practice) Rules 2014. The Supreme Court is currently hearing a challenge to the rules, and had given the BCI until October to announce state bar council elections.
- Also read: 10 BCI members’ terms have expired with no sign of new elections (because ‘fake’ lawyers)
In his email of today, Mishra also responded to our story of 6 September about 12 BCI members arranging a business class trip to Washington DC for an International Bar Association (IBA) conference, which would have set the BCI back at least Rs 48 lakh.
According to Mishra’s email, that trip has now been cancelled because BCI members are too busy to go, due to the courts being open.
- Also read: BCI cancels Rs 48+ lakh biz class USA trip for 12+ members: ‘India no more a slave. Mind it.’
Mishra also refers to our critical reporting on the BCI’s award of the All India Bar Exam (AIBE) tender to contractor ITES Horizon Pvt Ltd under dubious circumstances.
This is not the first time Mishra has levelled allegations against Legally India being a “foreign agent” or making “mischief”.
For a rebuttal of some of Mishra’s points, such as his allegation that Legally India is “a part of Rainmaker”, please read our response to Mishra’s legal notice from March 2016.
Email chain below in full (emphasis and hyperlinks added).
On Sep 13, 2016 8:26 PM, “Kian Ganz (Legally India)” wrote:
Dear Mr Mishra I understand that the following state bar councils’ terms have expired and have not yet held new elections: - Assam bar council: 1 November 2014 - Delhi bar council: 17 December 2014 - Uttarakhand bar council: 22 December 2014 - Bihar bar council: 17 April 2015 - Rajasthan bar council: 9 January 2015 - Maharashtra and Goa bar council: 18 July 2015 - Uttar Pradesh bar council: Around April 2016 - Kerala bar council: 16 May 2016 - Tamil Nadu bar council: 28 May 2016 - Himachal Pradesh bar council: 8 August 2016 - Karnataka bar council: 11 September 2016
What is the reason for the lack of elections at these SBs?
Why can verification not take place after and during elections take place in each state?
Best regards Kian
On Sep 15 2016 10:40 AM, “Manan Mishra” wrote:
Mr. Kian, Your one point program is to make baseless attempts to tarnish the image of B.C.I. Reason is known to every body by now. You were a part of Rainmaker who was removed by the council in the year 2012 under my Chairmanship. The removal was for the interest of B.C.I. and the legal fraternity. You were one of the major baneficiary,so you are still carrying the malice. Any impartial investigation n your call details will prove your regular n close contacts with the people who are the enemies of B.C.I. due to political reasons or for their vested interests. You always made nonsense acts by making comments about allotment of work to M/s It’s Horizon but why did you not raised any question about allotment of work to Rainmaker viz. Your Company. Who were instrumental in allottin g work to it without any advertisement,without any tender. All illegal payments ware made to Rainmaker. The allotment was never approved by the Council. You know every thing. But people should know what are you. It’s India where the foreign agents like you are trying to commit such nasty acts. Can you dare to make any such comments against the Statutory bodies of your own nation . Can you make any such comment with malice either against Law Society of England or Bar Council of England n Wales. If you do such nonsense acts against them I’m sure the Lawyers of England will never tolerate you n they may… But we Indians are very tolerant. We don’t take notice of small mosquitoes like u. But now it appears you have started attempting to spread Dengue here. Our members will take care of you. Though to my information even 0.1%lawyers or Judges of India do not look to your FALTU writings. Have you ever tried to ask the Judges of your country as to what should they ask ,what question should they put to a Lawyer or a client in a pending case.? You know the matter regarding Verification Rules is pending in Supreme Court. And in such matter no prudent Indian or Our media will like to make any comment. Obviously you have tried to prejudice the Honb’le Judges. Everybody is now fully aware of your hidden agenda behind such comment.But our Honb’le Judges are prudent enough to understand your motive n agenda behind such move. But note it down,BCI has brought these Rules to weed out fake Lawyers n to identify the None practicing Advocates who are burden for Institution. If we undertake the election on the basis of old roll n Rules,the fate will be same. Again the Statutory bodies will be the representatives of such fake,cheat n non practicing Lawyers. Rules will become meaningless.Its being done for the first time so,it’s bound to delay d elections for some time. But we have been taking all efforts to complete it at the earliest. But without verification if we hold elections now,the Bar Councils will be den of unruly,farzi,fake n non practicing representatives.Bcz the gang / racket of the persons practicing wd forged certificates has become very active. They are misusing social media’s to mislead people,spending huge money to defeat d Rules. I think you should not b a part of such people or media. Madras H.C. has said no election without verification. The matter is finally to b decided by apex court of India. So,better you should keep mum till the matter is finally decided by the Honb’le S.C. Have you ever verified in which class the representatives of Lawyers of your Country travel while going abroad for an air journey of about 15 hours.? India is now independent n no more a slave of your Country. Mind it. You have committed an offence by misleading the people of my Country. My members are sincere professionals, they didn’t get time to go to Washington D.C. as our Courts are open. I will again request you to refrain from doing such mischiefs. Indian are tolerant but it does not mean that they will tolerate your every mischief. Try to be a gentleman n learn how to do constructive things from we,the Indians. Hope you will mend yourself n publish every word of my letter without making any alteration. Try to behave like a sensible media if u claim to b. Though 99. 9%of people do not take notice of your such motivated things. Don’t think you can be fool Indian Lawyers or mislead our Honb’le Judges. Thanks.
..
Further reading:
- More of our BCI transparency coverage
- Revealed: AIR was exclusive sponsor of BCI’s fancy 50th jubilee party; 9 months later BCI starts forcing law schools to buy AIR products
- Explained: How 3 corrupt BCI officials were jailed (and how their attempt to blame Gopal Subramanium for it failed)
- BCI continues to be in ‘major breach’ of RTI obligations on several fronts: Central RTI commissioner Sridhar slams regulator in editorial
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Comments
Like they are now .... ? Class !!!!
"India is now independent n no more a slave of your Country. Mind it"
Damned German colonialists...
"My members are sincere professionals,"
Mr Mishra has now merged with the BCI an become a single entity ?
Please accept my sincere and unconditional apology.
Truly, i regret the squandering of Mr. Mishra's members, especially as the great man had indicated that his members were busy up the "open courts".
I am given to understand that unlike the general public, said members are permitted "backside" access.
Kian should also apologize for failing to redact such improper use of Mr. Mishra's members on LI.
a) Please share this email with eminent senior lawyers and get a comment from them. Manan may be a BJP man, but many eminent lawyers will not be afraid to criticise him and his backers in the BJP.
b) Please share this letter with British and German newspapers and websites. Indians love to accuse such people of racism. Now when the British and German media reproduce this and accuse us of racism, people here will feel ashamed and angry and attack the BCI. I can totally see the Daily Mail or at least the Lawyer covering a story like this, and Arnab picking it up!
c) Circulate on social media widely. Also share with NDTV, Firstpost etc.
Bar and Bench should learn from you.
Story at NUJS is also a non-starter. Saurabh Bhattacharaya has clearly stated that the proposed draft rules were thrown out at the first instance.
Worth reporting, yes. Worth hoping the right thing happens, yes. With making insinuations, no.
(...)
However, not sure how you get Arnab to cover something. I think the story needs lots of blood and shouting, and BCI is not mainstream enough I wager...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Dhananjay-Mahapatra-18127.cms
Also, I thought the irony in your comment was pretty obvious. :)
Will you reply to the email of Manan Kumar Mishra asking his comments on the points which you raised in your letter to Manan Kumar Mishra dated 6th June, 2015 (Reply to the Notice of Manan Kumar Mishra)?
I do hope and pray you are reading the comments. Ofcourse you are. You are classic example of what is wrong with our country, our system and the legal fraternity. The joke is on us lawyers because an incompetent nincompoop like you is holding an office that demands [ATLEAST] responsible conduct, maturity and if possible, ability to communicate in comprehensible manner :P
You just displayed your stupidity to everyone, your malice and prejudice is writ large. You reek of corruption. It is worrisome that someone like you is representing our fraternity.
You seems to be frustrated as LI exposed you. Your email simply showing that you are threatening LI. Comparing a person with mosquito is itself showing your character that you are so arrogant and are bullying a media person who is exposing you. Your frustration is evident. The language in you email is self-explanatory and showing your professional misconduct. Here, I challenge you to reply on the following points if you dare-
1. Why the All India Bar Examination's Minutes of Meeting of the Bar Council of India were doctored to add the name ITES Horizon Private Limited?
2. Why the Bar Council of India accepted the back-dated cheque from ITES Horizon Private Limited during the process of AIBE tender allotment.
3. Who verified the claim made by ITES Horizon Private Limited during the process of AIBE tender that it had turn-over of Rs. 5.4 Crore and had experience in conducting exams for Global Open University. Mr. Mishra, Kian in his letter already informed you that both the claims were false. ITES Horizon had never turn-over of Rs. 5.4 Crore. The company was simply on papers only.
4. Why you gave the tender of AIBE to ITES Horizon Private Limited, a company on papers only, while there was other lower bids from the other reputed agencies.
5. Why you did not take any action against the directors of ITES Horizon Private Limited for providing false information during the process of tender allotment, although Kian has already informed you about the false claim made by ITES Horizon Private Limited.
6. Why did not take any action against the Bar Council of India's official who verified the false claim made by the ITES Horizon Private Limited during the tender process of AIBE in 2012.
We do some investigative and detailed stories every now and then when we have time on a variety of subjects, but frankly I think that the BCI should be one of the main points of focus for LI. We are a publication for lawyers. What should be more important to lawyers than their statutory regulator and what it's up to?
Furthermore, the BCI is nearly criminally undercovered by the mainstream media (for various reasons - I still can't really understand why basically no one picked up our or the PTI reports on 3 BCI members having been jailed for corruption). So, by focusing our resources on the BCI, I think we are adding genuine value in terms of reporting.
As for our stories about the BCI being vindictive, I disagree. We are not biased against the BCI.
Yes, we cover a lot of negative news about the BCI, but when we cover negative news about the BCI we try to be as balanced and fair as possible, and we reach out to Mishra and others on every story trying to get their side of events, and try to put things in perspective. We also take pains to point out that we have had our share of run-ins with Mishra in the past, so readers can form their own opinion on whether we are fair or not in our coverage of the BCI.
But ultimately, the simple fact is that there are a lot of negative and untold stories about the BCI out there, and no one else is covering them, so it falls us to publish those rather than the genuflecting coverage the BCI otherwise receives.
"[b][quote]Any impartial investigation n your call details will prove your regular n close contacts with the people who are the enemies of B.C.I. due to political reasons or for their vested interests[/quote][/b]
[b][quote]You always made nonsense acts by making comments about allotment of work to M/s It's Horizon but why did you not raised any question about allotment of work to Rainmaker viz. Your Company. Who were instrumental in allottin g work to it without any advertisement,without any tender. All illegal payments ware made to Rainmaker. The allotment was never approved by the Council. You know every thing. But people should know what are you.[/quote][/b]
in the above reference I want to draw your attention that there is one F.I.R registered in the Crime Branch of Jaipur Police having No. 226/2012 U/s 420, 406, 408 in the matter of wrong tender allotment to Rainmaker. Interestingly, Manan Kumar Mishra has approached Jaipur High Court to quash this F.I.R. Now question arises if Manan Kumar Mishra is saying that the tender allotment to Rainmaker (LI) was wrong then why he filed quashing in this F.I.R. Let the case be investigated by the Crime Branch. This Manan Kumar Mishra is a big [...].
Danke,
Proud member of Mr. Mishra
Surely you are perfect example of us.. I mean advocates in India.. I hope you are reading the comments too....
Have some shame and feel guilt.. you better to die in a handful of water...
Kian, I request you to please let it surfaced on TV channels and write to all prominent lawyers here in India and abroad and show BCI's racism to everyone.. share his email here too and ask every members to send email to Mishra ji seeking his apology for this..
You lawyers are all up in arms at the language? Well, you are witnessing HISTORY! Law generally takes up English and Latin. Here, today, in this country, you are witnessing the birth of a 3rd Language. The Manan Kumar Mishra-ese!
No longer will you say 'a posteriori'. Instead, you will say 'laterz'. Books will remove "mala fide" and put in "faltugiri". Nor will you say "prius quam exaudias ne iudices" instead "why u judge bfor u lissen?"
Clap your hands with joy! Cry tears of joy!! Savor this moment!!! Law has a NEW language!!
For you shall regale your grandchildren with your stories and tell them: The invention of Manan Kumar Mishra-ese in history? I didn't read it in history like you guys, I LIVED it! And Commented on it!!
Do you think is is because journos are scared of being sued for defamation?
1. If the Congress party is told about it. They will then shout from the rooftops and come on news channels.
2. The anti-Rajnath Singh lobby in the BJP (which includes Jaitley) takes it up, and if Modi is isolated from the controversy (like the Sushma-Lalit incident which Jaitley leaked to Times Now)
If you don't politicise your coverage. no one will care. You should at least involve the Congress.
"The world 'secularism is being misused by parties and propagating 'pseudo secularism'". And then he criticises JNU, asks for a Uniform Civil Code, criticises the Congress Party for "appeasing" the judiciary by allowing judges to give legal aid etc etc.
Now, how can the chairman of BCI be so blatantly pro BJP? What does the Congress have to say in response to these allegations?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pgTttF0LbA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhil_Bharatiya_Adhivakta_Parishad
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/yrbKxfABKqc1CiDV6OcEkM/Arvind-Panagariya-is-right-MCI-must-go.html
Kian, you may be interested in this, unless ignored purposefully.
I believe confirms lot of fears about the manner in which Tribunal's have been managed by few Firms and individuals.
Thank you,
Adv. Shilpa