Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra has sent an unsolicited email to Legally India’s editor Kian Ganz earlier today, after having sent a legal notice on 21 May 2015 claiming defamation by Legally India, copying in more than 147 other recipients.
On 31/05/2015 00:20, Manan Mishra wrote:
Dear Mr Kian,
In last few years BCI has done many good,drastic steps . There has been sea change in our policy with regard to entry of foreign lawyers & law firms.A delegation of BCI is likely to visit USA ,UK & Australia very soon . Hon’ble Union Law Min. may also b a part of this delegation.If u r interested we may supply u details for publication.Hope u will publish the important constructive steps of the body of lawyers instead of unnecessary offensive criticisms.Nobody can prove any sort of malpractice or any incident of corruption in any of the activities of BCI.in last 3-4yrs.Some people who r having some personal vendetta against BCI may utter any baseless thing,we damn care & when needed we take appropriate action also.But a responsible media has an independent role to play.Any media ,if really interested in publishing news relating to legal affairs,it is expected to b in regular touch with the apex body of lawyers.Whats the opinion of lawyers of country on any issue,what step lawyers r going to take & the other related issues could be brought to the notice of people through media only.
If u go through ur articles & stories published in last 3 yrs,u will find that Ur legally India has been involved in criticising BCI on whatever issues u hv published so far.I think u should ask ur people to change their negative attitude & b positive.
Before criticising BCI on the issue of legal education or the decisions of LEC u or ur representative ought to have contacted me,& publish the views of BCI too on this vital issue.
Hope good sense will prevail & as a true media ,u will think over the matter & u will ask ur representatives to act with responsibility & sincerety.
If u r really interested in publishing the news relating to detailed plan & purpose of visit of delegation ,u can contact me on Monday.
Thanks. (sic)
Kian Ganz’s reply:
Dear Mr Mishra,
Due to your legal notice dated 21 May 2015, I have been advised by several of our legal counsel that we can not enter into correspondence with you without our independent legal adviser present until you unilaterally withdraw your notice in accordance with our full response to your notice, which will be sent to you in due course.
That said, our stories have always been balanced and we have met our ethical and journalistic duties by trying our best to include the BCI’s and your views when available.
I would also like to remind you that the vast majority of the time you chose not to take advantage of our offers of carrying your comment on BCI-related stories, since you did not respond to our calls or messages. I also struggle to recall times that you or the BCI have reached out or shared any positive news by way of press releases or otherwise.
Blaming us in retrospect that our coverage of the BCI has been too focused on the negative is therefore no one’s fault but your own.
Notwithstanding the above, we will be happy to publish your statements on any BCI initiatives, such as the below, in full and unedited. Please feel free to send me further details by email on the “change in policy with regard to entry of foreign lawyers & law firms” and any other “important constructive steps” of the BCI that you would like us to publish.
Your sincerely, Kian Ganz
Comments
I can't believe he has used sms lingo in his email!!
He is such an incompetent lawyer/chairman/person that he needs to get the All India Bar Exam cleared and needs to get the "Certificate of Practice" (provided if he could clear the exam) then he should be allowed to enter into any Court of Law. He doesn't deserve the post of Chairman-BCI.
Manan Mishra = MM = Mischief Misbehave
M is present everywhere ......LOL!!
By no means am I trying to make a value judgment based on how a single email is drafted, but the over all tone and presentation of the email, and lack of effort and substance, reflects the general malaise in the system... a "we damn care" attitude...
... and whatever happened to litigation strategy? You send a ridiculous legal notice, and then follow it up with a seemingly reconciliatory email??
It's a bar council that you elected and happily ignored for years after all... ;)
We await Legally India's reply to the legal notice.
Reader - To prove corruption in BCI may be difficult for any person but it is obvious that there is corruption in BCI otherwise you could have said "There is no instance of malpractice or corruption in the BCI at all" instead of saying what you have said above.
You do not do steps. You take them.
The Shield sees this, the Shield is watching
The Shield sees this, the Shield is watching[/quote]
The Shield cannot watch as well as the Authority or ThePhantom these days. The Authority and ThePhantom will keep a watch on all BCI activities to ensure everything is done that is "Best for Business". Bagpiper Gold? Do not insult good brands!! I am sure RoyalStag is behind such an email.
The Shield says:
"Many of the formative years of erudite young counsel have been structured by RoyalStag. Hence, it cannot be behind such glorius language"
The Shield has always protected the business. The Shield is waiting...
I advance the argument that BCI being a non-profit entity as well as one that does not have any competing entity against which its reputation could be compared (that is, it is essentially a monopoly) can claim no value for its own reputation and therefore has no right to sue for defamation. Its standing can neither be lowered, nor raised. It is what it is.
As further evidence, I present the above email in SMS lingo which shows that BCI cares two hoots about how it presents itself -- in other words, reputation.
Dear cloaked gentlemen and ladies, do these arguments sound plausible, frivolous, or simply naiive?
'Manan' is Thinking. Kumar refers to juvenile. Not sure about the rest.