MUMBAI: Lawyers argue loud and strong when it comes to misconduct by people in other professions in cases they represent, but when it comes to their own ilk, disciplinary action is non-existent, the State Bar Council revealed in a reply to a Right to Information query. The Bar Council said it receives about 250 complaints against advocates for misconduct each year.The Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa which has over 1.25 lakh advocates enrolled with it has not taken any disciplinary action so far in the last five years. The secretary of the state bar council Pravin Ranpise declared this in a reply last November to an application made by an activist Alka Shah on complaints received and action taken against lawyers.The Bar council said it does take ‘’serious disciplinary action against advocates who violate the ethics code’’. It however also said that it had taken ‘’no action as required since 2005, has been taken till date’’.Shah had sought details last year but her query was based on a 2007 Bar Council order which has left a senior citizen still doing the rounds for justice against a lawyer's misconduct. In a complaint against a Housing society lawyer who wrote allegedly libellous mail about a member of the Venus Co-op Housing society in Worli, the Bar Council had in 2007 sought a court order with a guilty verdict first in order to take action against the advocate.Shah, who also makes eco-friendly Ganesha idols, said, "it is shocking that an apex body of lawyers instead of taking disciplinary action against an advocate demands that a regular must first hold him guilty for defamation. Is it trying to protect its own kind?" She had asked the Council if it was permissible for advocates to use “defamatory and derogatory language in print against an opposite party’’. The Bar Council said it was clearly not permissible for lawyers to use defamatory language. It also clarified that no conviction order from a court is mandatory before it could take disciplinary action against a lawyer.The Worli flat owner, a well-known RTI activist himself, meanwhile then filed a defamation case against the lawyer and pursued the matter for three years from metropolitan court to sessions to the Bombay high court where Justice R P Sondurbaldota in 2010 finally held that there was no case for quashing as the "imputations made are per se defamatory." In 2011, armed with the HC order, he again moved the Bar Council against the advocate, but till date has had no hearing in it.Given this history, the lawyer who recently gave the police, statements against his own former client, the small-time model, who has accused DIG Sunil Paraskar of repeated rape, may have nothing to worry about say a section of legal fraternity.Asif Quereshi, the newly appointed chairperson of the State Bar Council when contacted by the TOI said that he had received a complaint from Susieben Shah, chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, against advocate Rizwan Siddiqui for making public, sensitive information allegedly amounting to professional misconduct. “I have immediately called for an emergency meeting of the disciplinary committee on August 23 to discuss this complaint,’’ he said adding, ‘’We will have to first verify the complaint and will then take action as required.’’ He said many complaints are still pending.Lawyers in the city expressed shock and dismay that professional ethics was seen to be taking a toss. “It is against professional ethics and rules of conduct to squeal on a client and the Bar Council should take swift action if complaint is proved,’’ said advocate Sujay Kantawala.Senior lawyer Niteen Pradhan chief of the privileged committee of the state bar council since 2012 said lawyers are held at higher standard of ethics by the public and law. “Lawyers are not meant to breach the confidential and privileged communication they share with the clients, which includes ex-clients. Such a prohibition is mandated by law.’’ As privileged committee chairperson, he said, ‘’we even come across cases where a person portrays himself wrongly as a lawyer without a law degree or enrolment and misbehaves in court by abusing other lawyers, clients and even at time magistrates.’’ A separate disciplinary committee has to deal with all such cases and actions permitted ranges from a simple reprimand to removal from the bar. A senior bar council functionary said, ‘’the Bar council does initiate action and issues notices to advocates and conducts inquiries and where necessary action is taken.’’