Abstract
A Division Bench of the Supreme Court in Bar of Indian Lawyers v DK Gandhi concluded on 14 May 2024 that advocates are covered by a contract of personal service; thereby, no professional negligence or deficiency in service by advocates can be said to arise under the Consumer Protection Act 1986/2019. The said judgment is per incuriam as it ignores fundamentals of the contract of service, the mandate, the scheme of social welfare legislation and consumer protection law, and judgments of larger benches on accountability of professionals, including advocates, for professional negligence. This article critically examines whether advocates are covered under a contract of service or a contract for services and, therefore, are unexempt/exempt from the operation of the consumer protection law. Raising these fundamental questions, the article makes a case for revisiting the judgment.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55496/XSHV8421
Recommended Citation
Mann, Jeet Singh
(2026)
"Revisiting the DK Gandhi SC Judgment 2024 on the Liability of Advocates Under the Consumer Protection Law,"
International Journal on Consumer Law and Practice: Vol. 13, Article 2.
DOI: 10.55496/XSHV8421
Available at:
https://repository.nls.ac.in/ijclp/vol13/iss1/2
