Bar Council of Delhi issues show cause notice to Somnath Bharti

Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti was on Monday issued a show cause notice by Bar Council of Delhi asking him to explain why his name should not be removed from the rolls for "tampering" of evidence in a case in which he was a defence lawyer and for which he has been indicted by a court.

Rakesh Sherawat, vice chairman of BCD, said the notice was issued to Bharti seeking his response by February 7 in a meeting of the Council held on Monday.

Apart from the issue of "tampering" with evidence, Bharti, who is at the centre of a controversy over his standoff with Delhi Police, has also been asked to respond as to he submitted his application for surrendering his licence to practice law after taking oath as a minister in Delhi government.

"We have issued a notice seeking his response by February 7 as to why he should not be removed from the rolls of the Bar. We have also sought his response why he did not submit his application for surrendering his licence before taking oath as a minister," Sherawat said.

The meeting was held to hear BJP's Delhi unit chief Vijay Goel's complaint seeking disciplinary action against the Aam Aadmi Party leader for "tampering" of evidence in a case in which he had appeared as a defence lawyer.

Goel has complained that in August, 2013, a special CBI court had held Bharti's conduct as highly objectionable and unethical, besides also amounting to tampering of evidence, after he had, as a defence lawyer in a corruption case, contacted a prosecution witness and attempted to bring on record an audio-recording of a conversation before the court.

The court had made the observations while cancelling the bail granted earlier to Bharti's client facing trial in a case relating to bank fraud.

After the BCD agreed to hear the complaint, Bharti had filed an application informing the lawyers body that he intended to surrender his licence.