Recently, the Delhi High Court issued a directive to the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) to pursue necessary measures against a lawyer facing allegations of fabricating an order purportedly from the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

The direction was passed by a division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Shalinder Kaur. This action was prompted after the "manufactured" IPAB order was placed before the court.

During the hearing of a trademark suit, the defendants submitted the purported IPAB order to the High Court. However, a vigilance inquiry later revealed that this order was non-existent. Subsequently, a single judge referred the case to the Chief Justice, prompting the initiation of contempt proceedings in the matter.

The primary defendant, facing contempt proceedings before the division bench, issued an unconditional apology to the Court. Additionally, they provided an explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding how they obtained the false document in question.

It was revealed to the Court that advocate Sanjay Aggarwal had handed over the document to the defendant back in April 2016. Aggarwal had been engaged to represent the defendants before both the Trademark Registry and IPAB.

The main defendant, upon discovering the falsified nature of the IPAB order, lodged a complaint against Aggarwal with the Bar Council of Delhi. The status of this complaint was communicated to the Court, indicating that it is currently under review and pending consideration.

Taking the explanation into account, the Court acknowledged the apology offered by the respondents and dismissed them from the contempt proceedings. Simultaneously, the Court instructed the Bar Council of Delhi to proceed with appropriate action against the implicated lawyer if found culpable.