India, Oct. 9 -- The Bar Council of India (BCI) does not have unrestricted power to remove an advocate's name from the rolls merely because an advocate submitted a disputed or allegedly fabricated caste certificate at some stage of the enrolment, the Delhi high court said.

A bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma on Friday held that in cases involving allegations of fraud, it is not sufficient to establish merely that a fabricated document was submitted. It added that it must also be demonstrated that the alleged fraud materially contributed to the advocate's enrolment on a state bar council's roll.

"Every incorrect statement made by an applicant, or every incorrect declaration contained in an enrolment form, cannot by itself be treated a...