A.
Dear Client,
As regards hiring of a new Advocate to represent your DV case in the Court, be informed that a litigant can add any number of advocates to represent him/her in the court; there is no limit to this. He/she can also replace his/her Advocate if he/she has lost faith or confidence in the Advocate. He/she has the right to change counsel at any stage of the court proceedings. Once he/she clears the Advocate's professional bills, he is bound to provide an NOC and if the Advocate is not ready or reluctant to issue an NOC after clearance of the fees, then he or she can apply to the court where the case is pending and pray for change the advocate, the court may allow the application post-hearing and after that, he/she can engage a new Advocate filing a fresh Vakalatnama in favour of new Advocate for representing his or her case before the Court. Further, be informed that an advocate has a fiduciary duty to protect the client's interests through honest and ethical means, regardless of the potential for negative outcomes for the advocate or any other parties. As per Bar Council of India rules on Advocates duty towards clients, an Advocate should not by any means, directly or indirectly, disclose the communications made by his client to him. He also shall not disclose the advice given by him in the proceedings. However, he is liable to disclose if it violates Section 126 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. An advocate should not be a party to stir up or instigate litigation. An advocate should not act on the instructions of any person other than his client or the client's authorised agent. A complaint under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS) that replaced the Section 498A IPC is a cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable offense that criminalises cruelty against a married woman by her husband or his relatives and punishes the accused with a penalty of up to three years of imprisonment and a fine. The Supreme Court and various High Courts have issued guidelines to prevent the misuse of Section 85 of BNS(Section 498A,IPC) including directing police to conduct a preliminary inquiry (or observe a "cooling-period", often two months) before making arrests in cases where the alleged offences carry a punishment of less than 10 years and do not involve tangible injury or death. This initial inquiry/mediation process often carried on by Crime Against Women Cells or Family Welfare Committees at the police station contributes to delays in formal FIR registration or filing charge sheet post investigation of the complaint made by the victim. Police may conduct a preliminary verification to determine if the allegations are genuine or motivated by a desire for leverage in divorce or financial disputes or Police may try to convince the parties for family counselling or an out-of-court settlement before registering a formal FIR post complaint that may lead to delay in filing charge sheet post investigation of the complaint/FIR. However, for inordinate delay in investigation or non-cooperation of the IO, you can escalate your grievance to the Higher Authorities, i.e, the State Police Complaint Authority or the Chairperson, State Human Rights Commission which are independent bodies empowered to investigate complaints against police officials to speed up the investigation into the FIR and filing of charge sheet in the court. So, take steps accordingly that suits your factual matrix post consultation with your Lawyer.
Posted On 07-Dec-2025
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