Lawyers cannot be sued for ‘deficiency in service’: SC

New Delhi: In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held the lawyers do not come within the purview of Consumer Protection Act and cannot be sued for “deficiency in service” before the consumer courts.

The top court said a considerable amount of direct control is exercised by the client over the manner in which an advocate renders his services during the course of his employment.

The services hired or availed of an advocate would be that of a contract “of personal service” and would, therefore, stand excluded from the definition of “service”, it said.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal said the legal profession is sui generis (unique) and the nature of work is specialised and cannot be compared with other professions.

The top court said the very purpose and object of the Consumer Protection Act 1986 as re-enacted in 2019 was to provide protection to the consumers from unfair trade practices and unethical business practices, and the legislature never intended to include either the professions or the services rendered by the professionals within the purview of the said Act.

“A service hired or availed of an advocate is a service under ‘a contract of personal service’, and therefore would fall within the exclusionary part of the definition of ‘Service’ contained in Section 2 (42) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. A complaint alleging ‘deficiency in service’ against Advocates practising legal profession would not be maintainable under the Consumer Protection Act , 2019,” the bench said.

The judgment came on a plea filed by the bar bodies and other individuals challenging a 2007 verdict of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which has ruled that advocates and their services come under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

The top court said the object of the Consumer Protection Act was to provide to the consumers timely and effective administration and settlement of their disputes.

Observing that the legal profession cannot be equated with any other traditional professions, the bench said it is not commercial in nature but is essentially a service-oriented and noble profession.