KSLU Solved Question Papers
Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 7
2015 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 7 Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System 2015 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2015 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2½ hours · Total marks 80 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1'Legal profession higher than the medical profession'. Explain the responsibility of legal profession.[12]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what the statement means (a wider public responsibility, not a claim that doctors matter less); the points of comparison between the two professions (what each protects, to whom each owes duties, the public setting of the work, the constitutional role, the duty to accept work, the statutory monopoly); the judicial statements that support it (V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan, In Re: Sanjiv Datta, D.P. Chadha v. Triyugi Narain Mishra); a balanced view; the responsibilities that follow, each with its rule; a conclusion.
What the statement means
Medicine and law are the two oldest learned professions, and both are noble. The statement does not say that a doctor's work is less valuable. It says that the lawyer's responsibility is wider. A doctor serves one patient at a time. A lawyer serves his client, but also the court and, through it, society's system of justice. That additional public duty is what places the legal profession "higher" in the sense of responsibility.
Points of comparison
1. What each protects. The doctor protects the body and health of a person. The lawyer protects a person's liberty, property, reputation and rights. Often he defends them against the State itself. When the State prosecutes a citizen, the defence lawyer may be the only person standing between him and prison.
2. To whom duties are owed. A doctor's duty runs mainly to the patient. A lawyer has a divided duty. Rule 15 of the Bar Council of India Rules makes it his duty "fearlessly to uphold the interests of his client". But the Preamble to those rules calls him "an officer of the Court", and his duty to the court prevails where the two conflict. He may not mislead the court even to win. No comparable duty to an outside institution binds a doctor treating a patient.
3. The public setting. A doctor works in a clinic, in private. A lawyer works mostly in open court, in a public institution of the State, and his conduct affects public confidence in justice. His conduct in court is therefore open to the law of contempt as well as to professional discipline.
4. The constitutional role. The Constitution itself depends on lawyers. Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. Article 39A directs the State to provide free legal aid. Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and district judges, are drawn largely from the Bar (Articles 124, 217 and 233). The profession is part of the machinery that makes rights real.
5. The duty to accept work. Under rule 11 an advocate is ordinarily "bound to accept any brief" in the courts where he practises, at a proper fee. He cannot refuse a client merely because the case is unpopular. Rule 15 adds that he must defend an accused whatever his personal opinion of guilt.
6. A statutory monopoly held in trust. Under sections 29 and 33 of the Advocates Act 1961, only enrolled advocates may practise law in the courts. Parliament has given the Bar a monopoly. A monopoly granted by the nation must be repaid with a higher standard of service.
What the courts have said
A partner in justice. In V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan, AIR 1979 SC 281, an advocate took promissory notes from an elderly couple to file suits. He failed to file them, and deceived the clients that decrees had been passed. Upholding the finding of misconduct, the Supreme Court described the relation of advocate and client as one of trust. It treated the profession as a partner in the administration of justice, not a trade.
A noble calling. In In Re: Sanjiv Datta, (1995) 3 SCC 619, a contempt case, the Supreme Court added a caution to the profession. It called law "a solemn and serious occupation" and "a noble calling". Its honour depends on the exemplary conduct of its members, in court and outside. It differs from other professions because what lawyers do affects the administration of justice. If people lose confidence in the profession, the whole system of justice suffers.
Candour to the court. In D.P. Chadha v. Triyugi Narain Mishra, AIR 2001 SC 457, the Supreme Court held that a lawyer must never be party to misleading the court. It must be told the correct position of law. This duty to an institution, overriding the wishes of the person who pays, is what sets the lawyer apart.
A balanced view
The comparison must not be pressed too far. A doctor also has public duties: in emergencies, to public health, and to the law. Medicine, too, is regulated by statute and by codes of ethics. And a single surgeon's error can cost a life, which no lawyer's error can do directly. The better view is that both are high callings. The legal profession is "higher" in one specific sense. Its members carry a double loyalty, to the client and to the court, and their work keeps the rule of law alive.
The responsibilities that follow
Because the position is higher, the responsibilities are heavier. In brief:
- To the court: dignity without servility, respect, no improper influence, candour, restrained language and punctuality (rules 1 to 4), and no strikes.
- To the client: acceptance of briefs, loyalty, confidence, honest accounts, and no conflict of interest (rules 11 to 33).
- To the opponent and colleagues: no direct dealing with a represented opponent, kept promises, and no soliciting (rules 34 to 39).
- To society: free legal aid (rule 46), and support for the rule of law.
- To the profession: upholding its standards and dignity, as the Preamble to the rules requires.
Breach of any of these is "professional or other misconduct" under section 35 of the Advocates Act. The disciplinary committee may reprimand, suspend or remove the advocate.
Conclusion. The statement is true in the sense of responsibility, not of worth. A doctor serves his patient; a lawyer serves his client, the court and the public system of justice together. The courts have called law a noble calling and a partner in justice (Sanjiv Datta, Rangadurai). They have insisted that the lawyer never mislead the court (D.P. Chadha). Those higher expectations are written into the Bar Council of India Rules and enforced under section 35.
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