A barrister who was found to have ‘knowingly and dishonestly’ misled immigration proceedings in which he had a personal interest has been disbarred. Mohammed Abu Sufian, called in October 2011, faced professional misconduct charges at The Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service.
He was alleged to have failed to observe his duty to the court in the administration of justice; failed to act with honesty and/or acted in a way which could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine his honesty and integrity and behaved in a way which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in a barrister or the profession. He was also accused of failing to maintain his independence and failing to take reasonable steps to avoid wasting the court's time.
Sufian, who was before a five-person panel, was found to have failed to observe his duty to the court by knowingly and dishonestly misleading or attempting to mislead the court and or making submissions, representations and/or statements which he knew to be untrue.
The allegations related to conduct from 2017 to 2018 during the course of immigration proceedings and associated judicial review proceedings.
Sufian was found to have assisted with and/or relied upon a right-to-reside application which stated that Person A was the primary carer of Sufian’s son, child A, or that child A was dependent on Person A for care. During the proceedings, the tribunal found Sufian had falsely represented the relationship between Person A and the child.
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Sufian was also found to have advanced accounts to the court on behalf of his clients when he knew one was untrue or misleading. The tribunal found he made untrue and/or misleading statements that he was not involved in completing the application.
He was also found to have had a personal interest in the outcome of the immigration proceedings and in acting for the clients was not able to act with independence. The tribunal also found he had failed to take reasonable steps to avoid wasting the court’s time by making an application and drafting documents containing contentions which he ought to have known were not reasonably arguable.
Sufian was immediately suspended pending any appeal.
A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board said: ‘Mr Sufian represented people where he had a clear interest in the outcome of the case and made dishonest and misleading statements. This behaviour falls far below the standards the public rightly expect of barristers. The decision to disbar reflects the seriousness of the misconduct in this case.’
