Watch | Can you take your lawyer to consumer court for poor services? | Explained

A video explaining whether lawyers can be sued in consumer courts or ordinary courts for negligence

Have you ever wondered if you can take your lawyer to the consumer court for poor services?

Well, the Supreme Court of India in a verdict delivered on May 14 [Bar of Indian Lawyers v. DK Gandhi PS National Institute of Communicable Diseases and Anr] addressed this exact concern and answered in the negative.

In a significant ruling, a Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal opined that the service provided by a lawyer constitutes a “contract of personal service” and is thus excluded from the ambit of “Service” as defined under Section 2, sub-section (42) of the Consumer Protection Act.

The Court reasoned that the Act was enacted to protect consumers solely from unfair trade practices of businessmen and traders and that the legislature never intended to include professionals within its ambit.

Distinguishing between the work of a professional and a businessman, the Court pointed out that the work of a professional requires a high level of education, training and a specialised kind of mental work where achieving success would depend on many other factors beyond a man’s control.

As a result, lawyers cannot be dragged to consumer courts for deficiencies in their services. However, the Court clarified that they can be sued in ordinary courts for negligence and other malpractices.

Importantly, the judges also highlighted that the legal profession is sui generis i.e. unique compared compared to other professions. This is because clients exercise a greater amount of “direct control” over the manner in which advocates render their services. For instance, an enrolled advocate can only practise in a court of law after a client appoints him or her to fight a case through a document known as the “vakalatnama”.