'Profession Tainted By Hooliganism': Court Slams Lawyers In Toll Plaza Case

Coming down heavily on lawyers who vandalised a toll plaza and ransacked a fellow advocate's office because he represented the toll plaza employees, the Supreme Court has said the legal profession, once considered noble, is now tainted by such acts of "hooliganism".

The matter goes back to a January 14 incident at a toll plaza on the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway. The toll plaza's employees have said Ratnesh Shukla, a lawyer, refused to pay the toll charges, leading to an altercation. The argument snowballed into a scuffle, and the toll staff allegedly beat Shukla up.

The lawyer filed a police complaint, and the toll booth employees were arrested. The local bar association said in a resolution that no lawyer should represent the accused. When a lawyer defied the diktat, the lawyers vandalised his office and set his furniture on fire.

The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta was appalled when the matter reached the Supreme Court. It said the developments reflect a "sorry state of affairs". The court described as "brave" the lawyer who defied the resolution not to represent the accused. The court also granted bail to the accused toll plaza employees in the assault case registered against them.

"The facts noted herein above reveal a very sorry state of affairs. The legal profession, which was once regarded as a noble profession, has clearly been tainted and tarnished by the acts of hooliganism perpetrated pursuant to the fracas which took place at the toll plaza on 14th January, 2026.

"We can understand the sentiment of fraternity amongst the lawyers, but that, by no means, can justify the acts of violence and lawlessness which ensued when a brave lawyer came forward to defend the accused. These deplorable acts of hooliganism deserve to be deprecated. The disciplinary body, i.e., the Bar Council of India is expected to take appropriate steps in this regard," the court said in its March 17 order. The bench transferred the case to Delhi and asked the Uttar Pradesh police to ensure the accused's safety when they are out on bail. 

The top court also pulled up the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh. "What is most unfortunate is that even the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh joined the fray and addressed a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh requesting invocation of the provisions of the National Security Act against the petitioners (toll plaza employees who allegedly attacked the advocate) even though the incident pertained to a trivial scuffle," it said.