The Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra has sent a letter to Legally India and 147 other recipients, including journalists, the President and Prime Minister of India, all Supreme Court judges and high court judges and others.
The letter alleges that Legally India was “being part of M/s Rainmakers you were deliberately doing the mischief and were trying to defame the Bar Council of India”.
The letter, which runs to six pages and is reproduced in full below, makes a series of allegations and notes:
The Bar Council of India has already provided you the minutes (as assured by me) and as per my apprehension (expressed during our conversation dated 15.12.2014), you have committed the mischief and you have not left any stone unturned in maligning the image of Bar Council of India. And you have published your story on 19.05.2015 with complete/oblique motive. By doing so, you have committed the offence of defamation for which you are liable to be prosecuted and punished by the appropriate forum. And your Registration/Licence to run any media is liable to be cancelled. You are misusing your Licence.
The letter signed by Mishra concludes with:
I hope and expect that very fairly you shall publish the full text of this letter of Bar Council of India on your website, so that your viewers could be made acquainted with your real face.
The notice relates to the minutes relating to the BCI’s tender of the All India Bar Exam (AIBE) contract in 2012 obtained by Legally India with more than 1,000 other pages of BCI meeting minutes under a long-winded Right to Information (RTI) request.
The AIBE contract was awarded in 2012 to NCR-based company ITES Horizon Pvt Ltd over four rival bidders: Rainmaker, which conducted the first three bar exams; Rs 55,000 crore global company Pearson Vue, which calls itself the “leading provider of global computer-based testing solutions” on its website; assessment and testing services company Aspiring Minds; and legal judgment database and publisher Manupatra with Universal Legal.
Full disclosure: Rainmaker and Pearson Vue are or have been regular advertisers on Legally India. For the avoidance of doubt, Legally India has no relationship with Rainmaker other than the arm’s length relationship it has with any other advertiser.
Full disclosure: Legally India has an interest in bar exam preparation service http://www.barhacker.in that was started in 2010 with Intelligent Legal Risk Management Solutions LLP (iPleaders), a company that was started by two NUJS Kolkata students and continues to be run by them since they graduated.
Full BCI letter reproduced below. We have forwarded the letter to Rainmaker CEO Antony Alex and founder chief strategist Nikhil Chandra requesting comment.
Legally India is currently seeking legal advice and will respond to the BCI’s notice in due course.
threads most popular
thread most upvoted
comment newest
first oldest
first
Anyway.. wrt this Notice, I suppose you could always say Truth is your defence! :P
So Kian.. Which foreign vested interest are you serving? :P
Well, atleast you are serving someones interests, whether foreign, Indian lawyers and Indian Law Schools (in the best manner possible).
BCI cannot protect interests of Indian lawyers, which they are supposed to, or serve anyone elses interests apart from their own!!
I think by this notice, BCI's true face is exposed. They are scared, and want to keep everything confidential from the public (including lawyers). Way to go LI to expose the BCI!!
Step-wise - in 4 parts :
1. You send him a defamation notice, saying that by all your scurrilous imputations in your (pretence of a) Notice as to my motives for what was an otherwise-honest journalistic deed, you have defamed me and my good portal. So, I sue you. (If you needs a head-up on typical ready-to-go drafts, attached are what we use for Somnath Bharti.) Give him 7 days to settle. Then file a criminal complaint, and also ask for Rs. 250 crores in compensation in the criminal complaint u/s 257(3) CrPC. Get summoning. Then file a civil suit for 250 cr and ask for waiver of court fees on 250 cr. (We'll give you our example to cite as precedent.) Once summons are issued on the suit, file copy with the people who prepare audited BS of the BCI and ask for a note to be placed in the BS, and also, with the Ministry of Law and Justice, where these jokers' ACRs are kept. Then file a writ, seeking a lien on their PF, gratuity, etc till the suit is decided. Then sit back and await settlement overtures.
2. In response to his notice, besides denying and the usual factual blah blah, invite him to sue you after first perusing the provisions of Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code, which says as under :
211. False charge of offence made with intent to injure.--
Whoever, with intent to cause injury to any person, institutes or
causes to be instituted any criminal proceeding against that person,
or falsely charges any person with having committed an offence,
knowing that there is no just or lawful ground for such proceeding or
charge against that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with
fine, or with both;
and if such criminal proceeding be instituted on a false charge
of an offence punishable with death 1*[imprisonment for life], or
imprisonment for seven years or upwards, shall be punishable with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to
seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
The, since the alleged defamation is not of the President of BCI but of BCI, query who will be the complainant from BCI's side ? Show him Section 211 IPC first.
3. File an RTI, asking the BCI details of how many persons were actually provided the cc of that Notice. The list is long : till addressee 8, it comes to 885 addresses ; even at just Rs. 100 per letter that's Rs. 88,500 in postal costs alone. If we add upto addressee 10, it comes to perhaps 1,060 addressees. And if we add 11-12, whew ! probably it'll cross 2 lakh addressees. That's Rs. 2 crores in postal costs. Who is paying these postal costs ?
4. Pay my bill for this advice, which is Rs. 1 crore.
Kudos, Sir.
And while it may get dismissed if I draft it (and with the attendant de rigeur costs, of course),but how can get it dismissed if you were to vet it ? After all, you seem to be the Ace of Spades when it comes to suing the "State" or "Statutory Bodies".
Oh ! By the way ! I just remembered ! I've got sanction from the President (of India, and not of the Defence Colony Residents Association) under Section 197 CrPC for criminally suing a sitting Judge of the Delhi High Court for a complaint that's already ticking at Patiala House since January 2015. Didn't have time to act on it earlier as I away to Calcutta for almost a month. Actioning it late next week.
Gee....this is really not fair on my part.....I should have been up-front with you about it, and told you about it before, rather than blind-side you with it.
Did you study law or not? Or are you a BCI representative? Good on merits?? LI procured the minutes by RTI ... and published the minutes.. where is defamation here? LI has reported what is true.. a defense to defamation is what is true and in public domain. You seem to be a first year law student!! BCI has screwed majorly here!!
Can you share the precedent please for all to know ?
I thought we had to file an OP first to show that the plantiff does not have the ability to pay the appropriate court fee and hence seeking leave.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Kian has been "doing" mischief and misbehavior" in the presence of BCI officials along with Prachi (whatever that means) I do not wish to imagine that.. I guess the BCI chairman was ragged??
slow clap
Mr. Mishra is trying to attach on Media and wants to stop media publishing his sin. I request all media person to come up and join together to fight against this attach on media.
In order to stop Kian and agencies setup by him (I assumed kian need not appear for bar exam every time :D ), BCI has taken certain resolutions in terms of litigation which can be raised !
Very very interesting argument!
Also I was also one of the persons who filed an RTI regarding Bar exam and ITes Horizon and I am not agent of Rainmaker !
This is hilarious !
Kiang! How the hell do you do that ?
I am dying of curiosity !
Yes..this happened.
on a lighter note..it is shocking that our profession is rhn by these Mann types.
I agree with you old friend!! The 2 dislikes to your comments are BCI officials...
On that note, we've reached out to quite a few senior counsel over this and a surprising number have been very supportive...
Great going Kiang (the wild ass)!!! Approach all Senior councils for an opinion that if BCI approaches any, the councils will have to refrain due to conflict ;) Old method!! Be the wild ass Kiang as BCI proclaim you to be. Well, they called you Kiang...not your actual name.. sue them for defamation and abuse as they called you as ass in their legal notice... Kian and then Kiang? Deliberate mistake??
Counsels*
Counsel**
Everyday he passes resolution in his favor...by the support of all other members.
Manan Kumar Mishr:-Allotment of work to M/s ITES Horizon Private Limited is in much more fair and transparent than that of M/s Rainmaker..
So Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra himself is raising question about the work allotment to M/s Rainmaker??
Yes shocking admission from BCI that appointment of Rainmaker was not fair and transparent!!
Tomorrow if the price of oil drops, were oil companies cheating consumers by charging more? Why is this man allowed to hold any office?
Kudos to you guys to have caught on to the 'real face' bit of BCI's letter and given it this hilarious angle.
Really, Hahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
More power to you, Kian and LI.
Generally asking as a side note- what is your justification for not asking for the minutes of the months for which you didnt ask?
The bulk of the BCI letter attempts to rebut that story.
I would recommend that you publish a follow-up story dealing with the rebuttal and present the facts that emerge and present any more facts/ evidence that is available to challenge the BCI rebuttal and to support your story.
The expose of BCI malpractices and incompetence is the main story here and the rest of the letter is only an attempt to draw attention away from the main story.
I think your audio tapes and transcripts will establish that the allegations of misbehavior by you and Prachi are bogus. So nothing to be concerned about there.
Any slight connection between you and Rainmaker is not such a big deal, in any case.
Also what law prevents anyone in a free country from selling bar exam study materials at a cost determined by the seller on the basis of assessed quality?
Your foreign links are also irrelevant to the story.
The only issue here is whether or not the story published by you is substantiated by evidence or is concocted, and I doubt that it is concocted.
That said, the BCI can create mischief for you so you should consider taking some defensive steps.
iteshorizon.com/Default.aspx
Whose company is this? There's no information about ownership on their website.
I feel one thing for sure!! Luthra is against LI in this and is talking crap and posting crap in the BnB website. Seems Luthra is too screwed and a particular Mohit Saraf has no work right now, and is out to take revenge from LI. Very true story, and I have genuine evidence of the same!! OK forget and F**k evidence... Luthra has admitted being against LI!!
From what I hear... Luthra has been pretty pissed with LI for the news reports and their associates venting out frustrations against Luthra on LI. So well, some partners pets hate LI for this and keep giving negative comments. Not on any and all news articles, but this is something that has got them happy!!
Open corporates has this info on ITES
Registered Address
FLAT NO-08 F/FLOOR, RIGHT SIDE PROPERTY NO B9/7, KH.NO-347/58 GOYAL APARTMENT VILLAGE SAIDULAJAB
NEAR IGNOU ROAD NEW DELHI
Delhi
INDIA
Directors/ Officers
inactive ROBAB KHAN, additional director, 5 Aug 2010- 4 Sep 2014
TARANNUM, additional director, 25 Aug 2012-
inactive ALAMGIR MOHAMMED KHAN, additional director, 5 Aug 2010-10 Sep 2013
opencorporates.com/companies/in/U72200DL1999PTC102389
Another internet website of ITES
www.eduprism.in/About.aspx
Directors of ITES as per www.companywiki.in/company/ites-horizon-private-limited/u72200dl1999ptc102389
DIRECTORS & KEY PERSONS
DIN/DPIN/PAN Director Name Appointment Date Designation
06382886
TARANNUM
25/08/2012
Director
02236582
ROBAB KHAN
05/08/2010
Director
VIEW OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS[-]
OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS OF CURRENT DIRECTORS
DIN/Director Name Company Name Designation
TARANNUM(06382886)
ITES EDUPRISM PRIVATE LIMITED
Director
ROBAB KHAN(02236582)
ITES EDUPRISM PRIVATE LIMITED
Director
www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/qua-ganador-softech-pvt-ltd-c315427.html
The domain details:
Domain Name: ITESHORIZON.COM
Registry Domain ID: 1878580449_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: www.godaddy.com
Update Date: 2014-10-02T05:41:26Z
Creation Date: 2014-10-02T05:41:26Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-10-02T05:41:26Z
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 146
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.4806242505
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited www.icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited www.icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited www.icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Robab Khan
Registrant Organization: ITES HORIZON PVT. LTD.
Registrant Street: SECTOR - 2 , NOIDA
Registrant City: NOIDA
Registrant State/Province: Uttar Pradesh
Registrant Postal Code: 201301
Registrant Country: India
Registrant Phone: +91.1204217086
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Robab Khan
Admin Organization: ITES HORIZON PVT. LTD.
Admin Street: SECTOR - 2 , NOIDA
Admin City: NOIDA
Admin State/Province: Uttar Pradesh
Admin Postal Code: 201301
Admin Country: India
Admin Phone: +91.1204217086
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email:
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Robab Khan
Tech Organization: ITES HORIZON PVT. LTD.
Tech Street: SECTOR - 2 , NOIDA
Tech City: NOIDA
Tech State/Province: Uttar Pradesh
Tech Postal Code: 201301
Tech Country: India
Tech Phone: +91.1204217086
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email:
Name Server: NS65.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS66.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: wdprs.internic.net/
So BCI is charging 60% extra over cost from aspiring lawyers for this exam which it claims it will spend on lawyer welfare.
This sounds illegal to me, some candidate to this exam should challenge this. Why should non-lawyers be forced to shell out for lawyer welfare?
Why should non-admitted jobless fresh law graduates subsidize the bar or admitted advocates?
Makes no sense, someone file a writ, please.
Seema.. you have been a great help dear!!
Are the Bar Council's decisions and actions (whereby it is extracting Rs 2000 as fees for this exam whereas the actual cost to the BCI is only Rs. 650, thereby netting a profit of Rs 1350 per candidate) reasonable and non-arbitrary under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. Is the BCI taking into consideration irrelevant criteria in fixing the exam fee and in selecting the service provider, i.e., is the BCI being guided by the profit motive in how it conducts this exam when it should not be.
The BCI decision making appears to follow this logic - The BCI starts with deciding how much they can charge for the exam and decide that Rs 2000 would work. They then look around to find a service provider for the least cost and the determination of reasonable cost is done based upon how much the BCI will save from the Rs. 2000, which profit the BCI and State Bar Councils then pocket.
The only factor to determine exam fees should be actual cost to the BCI. The determination of reasonable cost should not merely look at the cheapest option, but also at factors which impact the integrity of the exam process and its being conducted in a professional and competent manner causing least inconvenience and disruption for all stakeholders.
If a private university pocketed Rs 1350 as profit after charging Rs 2000 as an entrance exam fee, it would expose itself to the charge of cheating.
How much money are we talking about here? How is this money being appropriated for lawyer welfare, actually being spent.
Why should non-admitted law graduates seeking admission be overcharged by as much as 200% under the guise of lawyer welfare.
Wouldn't the quality of the exam process improve if for instance the BCI charged Rs 1000 per candidate and spent the entire Rs 1000 on conducting the exam more efficiently. Is the BCI compromising on the quality and integrity of the bar exam by seeking to make a profit out of this exam.
Well, well.. welcome to the R e a L India, Kian my man!
Hope you have kept your buffer (of man muscle and money) ready!
If any of these guys decide to actually take LI/you to Court, then you may get a sufferers-eye-view of what we call the Great Indian Justice dispensation trick.
If there is any litigation in the State of AP & Telangana against LI, I offer Pro-bono help on this issue. Kian need not worry about finances here.
We'll keep you posted.
Now I came to know why Mr. Mishra was afraid of RTI Act !!!!!
Read full story here on the following link
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/RTI-Act-being-misused-by-some-says-BCI-chief/articleshow/46809135.cms
"Mishra said the BCI's examination department has to deal with at least 10 RTI cases, relating to all India bar examination, every week ever since it has been introduced."
What should be obvious in this is if the BCI proactively disclosed things relating to the AIBE, they would probably receive only a 10th of RTIs...
www.livelaw.in/certificate-of-practice-bar-council-of-kerala-fleecing-lawyers-and-flouting-rules/
See the news report below:
www.hindustantimes.com/bathinda/punjab-police-bust-fake-degree-racket-of-nagaland-varsity/article1-1334038.aspx
Punjab Police bust fake degree racket of Global Open University, Nagaland
Mohammad Ghazali, Hindustan Times, Mansa| Updated: Apr 05, 2015 10:35 IST
The Mansa police on Saturday busted a fake degree racket allegedly being run by Global Open University, Nagaland, through its counselling centres and franchises.
The police arrested the university’s pro-chancellor Priya Ranjan Trivedi, who is also listed as the chairman of the university’s governing and academic council in a UGC report of 2010. Three other alleged accomplices of Trivedi have also been arrested.
Mansa SSP Bhupinder Singh Khatra, at a press conference here on Saturday, said the university had, through its 200 centres spread across the country, issued more than 30,000 fake degrees of various graduate and postgraduate courses for prices ranging between Rs9,000 and Rs35,000 each.
Global Open University is a private university established in 2007 under the Nagaland state act and is recognised by the UGC. Spread over 80 acres in Dimapur, the university, however, is not authorised to run distance education or off-campus centres.
“The university was allowed by the UGC to run distance education centres only for one year in 2008-9, but after that the opening of such centres was banned. The university, however, continued to open its centres, enrol students and give them degrees. These degrees have no validity.
The students who were enrolled were issued roll numbers of 2008-9 in order to hoodwink the UGC,” the SSP said. Khatra said that in Punjab alone the university had around 16 centres and had since 20089 issued more than 5,000 fake degrees. “Many of those who procured them have got jobs based on the fake degrees,” Khatra said.
Sources said the Mansa police had shortlisted four of its own employees who had a degree from this university and managed to get a job in the police department.
The fake degree scam came to light when Mansa resident Tarlochan Singh who had a degree from this university applied for a Hindustan Petroleum (HP) gas agency. He deposited the fee for the agency and started setting it up. However, when HP got his degree verified it was found not valid and his gas agency was cancelled. The Mansa police started investigations into the case.
However, the police have also arrested the complainant for buying the fake degree.
MODUS OPERANDI
The SSP said Trivedi used to operate from Delhi. “The university is approved by the UGC to offer only two courses -- fashion designing and hotel management.
But this gang established various nodal centres in Punjab and their operations were monitored from Paryawaran Complex in New Delhi. The centres were advertised and students who enquired about the courses would be told that they did not have to go to Nagaland to study but could do so wherever they were. The students also joined the system as they simply bought the degrees they wanted. The gang used to charge 9,000 for a BA and
30,000 for M Phil degrees, said Khatra.
UGC CONFIRMS VARSITY’S OPERATIONS NOT AUTHORISED
To confirm that the entire operations being run by the university were fake, the Punjab Police contacted the UGC that wrote back to the Mansa police on April 1, saying the university had no authority to run counselling or outreach centres and enrol students. “The letter clearly states that the university cannot open and run any off-campus study centres outside Nagaland.
During the investigation, it was found that these people were already fighting a case in the Punjab and Haryana high court pertaining to the same issue. The Patiala police, too, had tried to investigate the racket earlier,” said Khatra.
POLICE TO BROAD-BASE INVESTIGATION
“Other than this university, there are numerous other study centres and counselling centres being run in Mansa and elsewhere in the state which claim to be associated with some university or the other.
They are also offering similar degrees.
I have asked my teams to get me the list of these centres. We will verify all these and see how many of them are genuine,” said the SSP.
BS Khatra, Superintendent of Police, Mansa, said: “The university had issued fake certificates and degrees to students without conducting any exam. The fee was charged between Rs 9,000 and Rs 35,000. The accused have been taken into five-day police remand. All four accused were in Patiala to attend hearing in a court case on March 30 when we nabbed them from a hotel.”
Legally India should ask the BCI if it verified the experience claimed by ITES Horizon, what tests did ITES actually conduct for this Global Open University?
www.sentinelassam.com/mainnews/story.php?sec=1&subsec=0&id=212798&dtP=2015-02-09&ppr=1#.VWA630-qqko
Institute in Guwahati offering fake courses?
This utterance of APA’s coordinator cannot be taken at its face value. If the institute does not offer courses other than Civil Engineer Course, it does not slot into place as to why its website shows the offer of courses like Electronic and Telecom Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering.
By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, December 20: Business on education has become such a lucrative field nowadays that unscrupulous businessmen often rush in to make a mint. How come they do all these under the very nose of the administration? This, however, is a million dollar question.
Assam Professional Academy (APA) in the heart of Guwahati located near Bora Service on the GS Road is such an organization that mints money by offering a number of courses most of which, according to standard educational yardsticks, are fake.
Courses, as offered in APA’s prospectus and website, among others, are Electronic and Telecom Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, etc. However, according to norms, such courses cannot be offered by any institution without the mandatory approval of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). However, the name of APA is not found in the list of AICTE–approved list of institutions. Without AICTE approval they also offer management degrees like MBA and BBA.
The institute also offers traditional courses like BA, B Sc, MA and M Sc, MEd, M Phil, LLM etc., allegedly without even having the recognition of any university. The recognition of a university is a must for any institution to offer such courses.
The website of the director of APA claims that its “degree courses are government recognized”. What does not slot into place is as to how a government recognizes such courses that are recognized by universities only.
The website further says “the certificates of engineering, management and traditional courses are issued by the UGC”. However, as the tradition goes, the UGC does not issue such certificates for any such courses to any candidate.
When this reporter asks the coordinator of the institute, he only said: “The certificates for the Civil Engineering Course is given by the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), and we don’t offer any other courses.” This utterance of APA’s coordinator cannot be taken at its face value. If the institute does not offer courses other than Civil Engineer Course, it does not slot into place as to why its website shows the offer of courses like Electronic and Telecom Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering.
When asked about traditional courses like BA, B Sc, MA and M Sc, MEd, M Phil, LLM etc., the coordinator said: “They have recognition from Global Open University, Nagaland.”
However, there are standing UGC guidelines that no university can offer courses outside their territorial jurisdictions where they cannot even open any study centre. How come an open university of Nagaland recognize an Assam institution for offering such courses?
This reporter wanted to meet the director of APA so as to get things cleared. The director, however, refused to give him any appointment on the pretext of remaining too busy.
Around two years back when the irregularities committed by CMJ University in Shillong had come to light, all district administrations in Assam were alerted about the running of any fake institutions under their jurisdictions. How come such a fake institute runs its business in the heart of Guwahati under the very nose of the Kamrup (M) district administration? This is a pertinent question being raised by circles concerned.
The students of APA also allege that the institute engages teachers who lack domain knowledge and as such cannot teach them.
Kian, please ask the Bar Council of India to inquire into the legality of the tests that ITES Horizon allegedly conducted for the Global Open University.
The Global Upon University seems to be a fake degree granting operation. See these links.
www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/fake-certificates-case-takes-a-turn/article5464784.ece
universitynews.weebly.com/fake-university/list-of-fake-universities-of-india-are
businesscareers1.blogspot.in/2013/10/should-i-opt-degrees-from-global-open.html#.VWBBtE-qqko
www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/the-global-open-university-nagaland-l86565.html
morungexpress.com/global-univ-refutes-punjab-police-allegation-of-fake-degree-racket/
www.prtrivedi.com/
See these links
www.globalopenuniversity.com/
www.globalopenuniversity.org/index.php
or degrees4sale.blogspot.in/ which enlightens
"33. Global Open University (Don't confuse it with The Global Open University, Nagaland (TGOU)- TGOU is an approved state government of Nagaland Government and strictly adhere to UGC, DEC norms). Please remember that only The Global open University, Nagaland is an approved university. Reason: The worst part is that this institute does not tell where it is located,India, Pakistan, US nowhere. You have to contact them through mail only."
ITES Eduprism CIN: U80903DL2013PTC252254
Kian why don't you demand to set-up an independent commission with public representatives with open hearings which cover both AIBE contract awards - the one which was awarded by Gopal Subramaniam without any public tender and the one awarded to ITES through an apparently flawed but public tender process? For me both contract award smack of favouritism and biased decision making.
Its not about Hindi-Speaking or English-Speaking Chairmen. Definitely the contract of AIBE was awarded through public tender process but the fact is that it cannot be said purely a public tender process. I quote some para from Minutes of Meeting -
" ITES (R. Khan) personally appeared and expressed her willingness to conduct the exam, saying that she can run her office in the premises of Bar Council of India itself; it would be Bar Council of India which shall spread its name, ITES shall only be managing the exam in transparent and fair manner."
These lines from minutes of meeting are self explanatory how transparent the process was.To start with it is good initiative and then you can take matter further to investigate all other issues...
First lets address the issue of the current BCI Chairman first and then we can go back in history as much as we can. No issue of leaving any body :D
Any selective investigation will be considered suspect and driven by vested interests who could not win the 2012 AIBE bid and such action is driven by aggrieved lobbies and will be unfair. Hence both AIBE contract awards must undergo criminal investigation by anti-corruption bureau with daily open/public hearing for truth to come out.
Mr Honest, come on why don't you join me in this endeavor - hope you are not afraid of entire truth coming out.
In fact the Bar Council in its regulations hasn't even contemplated the fact that there may be lawyers who you know never go to court or be doing non litigation work.
Other regulatory authorities are WAY ahead of us. For Eg. the UK has introduced success fees for damages based claims in order to increase access to legal services.
The Bar Council of India exists for one reason and one alone. To protect the malaise at the bar and to oppose reform of any kind. They are the guardians of the entrenched system. The system where a lawyer files documents without even checking with his client as to the contents of the same.
I don't think I've ever heard of a bar council ever trying to censor anyone. As Advocates we have a natural duty to bat for Fundamental Rights. How does this Bar Council actually represent us in any way?
They haven't worked out creating professional standards. Some basic regulations like requiring an advocate to quote his enrolment number on his letterhead, having a searchable database of lawyers with their addresses for correspondence so that it becomes easier to facilitate service. Working towards trying to provide better facilities for Advocates , such as ensuring that each Bar Association has a well stocked library etc. I mean what do they exactly do? Except for filing of misguided misconduct complaints based on change.org petitions, I really have no idea what it is that the Bar Council Really does for Advocates?
It's become more of a regulator of law colleges than a regulator of the profession!
Personally, I love the BCI Chairman. Recused therefore. By love, I mean affection.
All you learned people commenting with all possible remedies and presenting all sorts of proofs etc. of misdemeanours and possible illegalities and corruption on part of the Chairman and the BCI and talking of defamation and the lack of justification for its existence today and about the insufficiency and inadequacy of the conduct rules etc. - SHAME ON EACH ONE OF YOU!
You all are presumably lawyers and all you can manage to do is comment on this thread and cry foul and blame and carry on the game. Does not a single one out of you have the courage or inclination to file a Writ petition and raise all these questions and get the situation remedied by the Court? Looking at the packages offered by Law Firms today, I reckon all of you must be earning lakhs of rupees, apart from being well connected in the fraternity. All that enables you to do is make comments, sitting in your comfortable chairs? If the BCI has embarrassed the profession, I'd say you all are doing no better. If the BCI/ Mr. Mishra has committed a wrong - I'd say you all have committed a wrong no less, by letting it continue and perpetuate. Grow a pair and get together and take this up legally and have the situation remedied and the guilty punished. If you can't do this for the sake of your own profession and against your own regulator - I worry for the clients that entrust you with their work.
Ms. Sapra and Mr. Khosla - I have found your comments the most relevant and important and thereby, expect the most out of you both. If you have the time and inclination to research and investigate so much and post the results here, I'm sure you can have no excuse for not giving meaning to all of this and taking it up full fledgedly.
Till then, all of you are sore losers commenting on this thread and then going about your normal lives. Mr. Mishra must be sitting and laughing at all these comments. The only way to stop his laughter is to get him embroiled legally. Someone do it, please. If you want to settle for anything short of that - then, you might as well just shut up and relax.
If I were any of those, why would I want to stir up the learned people here into doing something more meaningful? Maybe you should shut up and get lost and do something more worthwhile than being a stupid, foolish Agent (of whoever).
I went to Sanawar, and a couple of the ending bars in the school song went something like this :"Someone's got to stop the rot......and why not you ?".
So, why not you ? Mail me,and I'll hold your hand and take you through - no, not a writ - a suit in your name. Why ? Because you can lead evidence in a suit. A writ is for the (knee)jerk "reactors". Gratis.
If there is interest in joining up, here's what we've posted with various law schools for interns and juniors : "WANTED - 5 GLADIATORS - to start with - For an up and coming law firm, extremely aggressive, with a completely fresh and innovative perspective to the law, being tasked to pursue over 125 live ongoing civil and criminal matters in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, Delhi Trial Courts (criminal), Company Law Board, in H.P., U.P., etc.
The people we’re looking for have a distinct fire in their belly to demand and effect change, and for whom nothing is sacred or sacrosanct, and who question anything and everything placed before them in order to get to the very root of things, people who find challenges to be the greatest stimulant, whether its through ‘demanding’ (not ‘beseeching’) video-recording of court proceedings with certified transcripts, to challenging the source of authority of a Judge (read with his immunity), from petitioning for enhancement of court hours to 9:30 am to 6:00 pm with curtailment of vacations, to questioning the system of appointment of Judges, to whether the affixation of a Rs. 3 ticket on an Urgent Application creates a binding contract with the Court for urgent disposal which, if breached, gives rise to tort, whether the conduct of the Ld. Attorney General in the Coalgate scam is tantamount to criminal contempt of court, and so on.
Lets put it this way : for those who think that after 3 (or 5) years study of the law, its safe to say that "its trite - and every one knows that its trite - that its the Legislature that makes law", you need to re-think this through with us, because we respectfully don’t agree.
In one year with us, you will get more than 15-20 years experience with anyone else. You will – and will be expected to – question everything until you know now just ‘what’, but even more important, the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’. And we expect you to take the floor in the court-room within 3-4 months (and if you can’t, we shall confess that we made a mistake in selecting you – and it is we who shall end the relationship, and with our sincerest apologies for having wasted your time).
You need to be very computer-literate and proficient in quality English (sorry, its our condition-precedent requirement). We think well of people who are proud of their drafting skills, whether its even the small stuff like formatting or punctuation. We’re looking for people who also have no problem in rolling up their sleeves and chasing the filing section themselves as an intrinsic part of their learning curve, to serving a petition on the opposite party themselves at a late hour if that is what it will take to ensure listing on the desired date.
If this is you, we suggest a relaxed meeting to see if there’s a meeting of minds.
The salary should be the last question on your mind ; nonetheless, if it still occupies a fairly prominent place in your mental make-up, we do not underpay. You are not even ‘a’ – let alone ‘the’ - source of our profit ; that’s all we’ll say.
If this is still you, you will email us by this evening with your proposal convincing us why we absolutely must hire you, giving us not just your dry bio-data and a photograph but telling us, for example, what excited you about this note, and we’ll get back to you within a week, either way :"
However, your comment does not help my problem and my concern much, here.
I admit, due to personal reasons and for the lack of certain things on my part, I might not be able to do anything better myself, than comment here. But, I'd still like to differentiate between my own position and that of everybody else here, who is already a lawyer and experienced, with resources and everything else. I am also guilty of inaction, considering the action you suggest I can take. But, I have no qualms, considering my position as a young student, in saying that I don't share the blame as much as you all do. If I were in your position, or in the position of many others here, I'd have probably sprung into action. It's unfortunate, at this stage I can't do much and that doesn't make me happy, of course. But, I shared a sentiment which came to my mind after looking at what's been going on on this thread. It's not gone down well with many, as is evident from certain comments above, in response to my comment.
Mr. Khosla, if you promise all the litigation and number of matters that you've mentioned - why don't you add this one to your long list? Why can't you find a way to file a suit, if not a Writ? I'm sure, if you want to - you'd have a way to do it, even without the assistance of somebody like me. If you don't want to do it - I'm sure you'll have ten excuses and one of them could be to put it all on me and my disinclination to file a suit in my own name and shut me up. I expect and hope you'll make the better choice.
Speaking only for myself, I am already battling very powerful entities after exposing corruption and I fear for my life. Google my name and find my blog and read the court record. So please don't accuse me at least of apathy. I unable to do anything more at this time except fight for my life. No lawyer or Bar Council or Bar Association stepped forward to support me, but several participated in targeting me.
But Student, even these comments do make a difference.
Maybe a group of students can at least file a writ on the bar exam issue. Doesn't take much money, time or effort.
Long live it's name, great be it's fame,
In stories and in song!
Nostalgic already..
By August, four companies had applied: Rainmaker, global electronic testing company Pearson VUE, legal database supplier Manupatra and Gurgaon-headquartered assessment company Aspiring Minds.
The BCI admitted at that time that it would not be able to hold the exam before October, but on 4 September the BCI chairman said that the AIBE would happen on 25 November—a date that would be “very much final, no postponement”. By October end, the BCI again postponed the AIBE to 9 December citing a clashing religious event and “several requests from candidates”.
On 7 September, BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra confirmed that the BCI had rejected all four of the tenders and had instead gone with a technology company called ITES Horizon Pvt. Ltd that would assist the BCI in a more limited capacity.
KIAN! If you want any serious advice,stay away from the comments section of this story - freeloaders alone have gathered here.
I salute your courage and wish you the best.
Coward named himself very rightly as a coward.
I am told that Khaitan & Co tried their best to use that order of Sachdeva J. to seek restraint against Mr. Khosla at the Calcutta High Court. Mr. Khosla not only shot down their challenge, but now has Khaitan & Co on the run.
Then, on 13-04-2015, he argued at Delhi before a DB of Justice Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta. I know someone who was present, and I am told that this is how it went : their first query was "Mr. Khosla, before we let you argue the case, we'd like to remind you that there was that order of Sachdeva, J. against you, restraining you from arguing ; have you got it set aside ?" He said "I don't need to get 'set aside' that which is void. I do not intend to appeal what is a "nullity" in law, but will challenge it 'collaterally' if any person attempts to use it against me, and in the relevant proceedings. Therefore, if this Court intends to hold that order against me, I have the right to challenge this Court's attempt to use that order against me in these proceedings also."
Justice Nandrajog appreciated the argument (as he was bound by Article 141 of the Constitution to do), and let him argue.
Don't believe ? Ask Amarchand Mangaldas ; they were there is full force.
Do you, Mr. Nameless Coward, have the intellectual wherewithal to deploy such an argument before a Court of Law ?
If not, think before you speak. Especially when you speak idiotic rubbish.
Mishra specified no timeline for a response and did not ask for anything other than for this article to be published, so taking a little bit of time with the response.
Will update shortly.
Have you settled this offline with the BCI?
Defamation is doubtful. But they can acivate Economic Offenses Wing (EoW) against Kian by allegation of some losses or potential losses. If it can be done easily like in this case articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-21/news/55279800_1_jimmy-mahtani-pe-fund-baring-asia which had NCP lawyer Majeed Memon of MZM stepping on the pedal providing the smarts, after slow progress in settling this case www.business-standard.com/article/companies/baring-pe-asia-sued-by-global-indian-schools-over-deals-114041601400_1.html . I think this means Police personnel in India are ready to take on these jobs so anybody with a foreign connection (even if they look Indian) has to be very careful when they have made enmity with these powerful true Indians.
threads most popular
thread most upvoted
comment newest
first oldest
first