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Sambhu Saran Singh vs. CMD MTNL and Anr.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7645-DBDecided 7 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 10247/2026CNR: DLHC010326822026
Justice C. Hari Shankar · Justice Vinod Kumar

Background

The petitioner had filed a writ petition against Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) through an advocate, Mr. Shashwat Sharma. At the hearing, counsel for MTNL pointed out that this very advocate had earlier appeared for MTNL itself before the Tribunal in the same underlying dispute, meaning the petition had, in effect, been filed by someone who had previously represented the opposite side. By the time the objection was raised, the original advocate had already relinquished the case and a new counsel, Mr. Pragyesh Pratap Singh, had come on record for the petitioner.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that simply changing lawyers midway did not cure the underlying defect, since the writ petition may have been not maintainable from the very moment it was filed, given who had originally filed it. Rather than let the Court examine and rule on this "somewhat embarrassing issue" in detail, the new counsel himself requested leave to withdraw the petition, with liberty to file a fresh one in his own name. The Court granted this leave and liberty, disposed of the petition on that basis, and cancelled the previously scheduled hearing date.

Lesson Learnt

A lawyer who has previously represented one side in a dispute cannot later file a case against that same party in the same matter: such a conflict of interest can taint a case's validity from its very inception, and the safer course, once discovered, is to withdraw and refile with independent counsel rather than risk the petition being thrown out on that ground.

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