Archive · 3 Dec 2025
Karnataka High Court Dismisses Vengeful Complaint Against Senior Advocate
A senior lawyer named Jayna Kothari was accused of misconduct by a former employee of a company.
The employee claimed that Kothari was partial in a sexual harassment case, which led to his dismissal.
Kothari argued that she was acting as an external member of the company's committee, not as a lawyer.
The Karnataka High Court agreed with Kothari and dismissed the complaint, saying it was filed to take revenge.
The court noted that the complaint was not valid because there was no direct relationship between the employee and Kothari as a lawyer.
The court also mentioned that the employee had already challenged the decision elsewhere and could not file a new complaint just because he disagreed with the outcome.
The Karnataka High Court dismissed a misconduct complaint against Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari, finding it was filed with mala fide intentions to wreak vengeance.
Kothari was serving as an external member of a company's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in her personal capacity, not as a senior advocate.
The complaint was filed by a former employee who was dismissed after a sexual harassment inquiry in August 2019.
The court noted that the complainant had already challenged the decision before the assistant labour commissioner and could not allege misconduct by an advocate merely because the Committee's findings were subsequently found to be wrong.
The court ruled that the Bar Council should not have entertained the complaint as there was no contract or client-advocate relationship between the complainant and Kothari.
- Who
- Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari and a former employee of a company
- What
- Dismissal of a misconduct complaint against Kothari by the Karnataka High Court
- When
- The order was passed on November 7, 2023, and made public this week
- Where
- Karnataka High Court, India
- Why
- The complaint was found to be filed with mala fide intentions to wreak vengeance
- Complainant
- Former employee of the company
- Respondent
- Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari
- Complaint Filed
- May 2019 (sexual harassment)
- Employee Dismissed
- August 2019
- Bar Council Complaint
- Filed by the former employee
- High Court Order Date
- November 7, 2023
- Justice
- Justice M Nagaprasanna