Punjab & Haryana High Court Slaps ₹15,000 Cost on Advocate for Hiding License Suspension in PIL
Court dismisses PIL citing suppression of material facts by advocate Simranjeet Singh
NewsArc Bureau | Chandigarh, September 15, 2025
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a ₹15,000 cost on advocate Simranjeet Singh for filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) while concealing a critical fact: his license to practice law was suspended. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry, dismissed the PIL and ordered the penalty to be deposited with the Punjab State Legal Services Authority Disaster Relief Fund within a week.
The court’s decision, pronounced on Monday, stemmed from Singh’s failure to disclose that his license was suspended by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana on November 23, 2022, with the matter still under consideration. Additionally, the bench noted that Singh did not reveal that a prior plea challenging the suspension was dismissed “for want of prosecution” on May 28, 2025. “Petitioner does not seem to have come with clean hands,” the bench remarked, emphasizing the suppression of these “material facts.”
Singh had filed the PIL, titled Simranjeet Singh v. State of Punjab and others, alleging corruption in the Jalandhar branch of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and claiming significant recovery dues from defaulters. During the hearing, Advocate General Maninderjit Singh Bedi highlighted that the petitioner, appearing in person, was an advocate with a suspended license. Representing PSPCL, advocate Sangam Garg supported the state’s stance.
The court concluded, “In all fairness, petitioner ought to have disclosed the material facts,” leading to the dismissal of the PIL (CWP-PIL-257-2025) with the imposed cost. The ruling underscores the judiciary’s stance on transparency and accountability in public interest litigations.
