Supreme Courts ruled,-
"Lawyer not liable for wrong legal advise"
The Supreme Court has ruled that a lawyer cannot be prosecuted for giving wrong advice to a bank unless there was proof to show that he was part of a conspiracy to defraud the bank. Liability against an opining advocate arises only when the lawyer was an active participant in a plan to defraud the bank, the top court said on Friday, rejecting a CBI plea to go after a lawyer whose advice caused huge losses to Hyderabad-based Vijaya Bank.
At the most, he may be liable for gross negligence or professional misconduct if it is established by acceptable evidence, a bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi said, upholding a Andhra Pradesh High Court order on July 9,2010. The CBI, appealing against the HC order before the Supreme Court, claimed that the lawyer misled Vijaya Bank on 10 housing loans by giving false legal opinion. The lawyer is a co-accused in a case over granting housing loans to 22 borrowers in violation of bank rules, which led to losses of.1.27 crore to the bank. The other accused include former branch manager and assistant manager of Vijaya Banks Narayanaguda branch.
They were charged with conspiracy, fraud and corruption for abusing their official position as public servants and conspiring with private individuals, including a builder, to defraud the bank. The lawyer was charged with the task of verifying documents submitted by the borrowers regarding mortgage papers of some properties and municipal permissions. CBI alleged that he gave false legal opinion in respect of 10 housing loans.
Source: www.economictimes.inidatimes.com
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