# Supreme Court slams actress, lawyer for 11-year legal feud 2026-08-21T17:39:02+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Friday imposed Rs 5 lakh costs each on actress Rehana Khan and lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee, dismissing their cross-appeals in an 11-year legal dispute. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi said both had come with unclean hands and wasted court time that belonged to genuine litigants waiting in queue. Barandbench.com reports the Court held that Siddiquee's television interview disclosing confidential client information was itself enough to sustain the Bar Council's finding of misconduct against him. Times of India reports the bench described the case as 'luxury litigation' by influential people that delays hearing of poor litigants' cases. The Court rejected a plea to redact the parties' names. The dispute began in 2013 when Khan alleged a police officer attempted to assault her. The Bar Council of India had suspended Siddiquee for two years and fined him Rs 3 lakh. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Barandbench.com leads with the Supreme Court's sharp rebuke of the litigants' conduct, quoting the bench's observation that 'neither has been candid'. Times of India frames the same story around 'luxury litigation' by the rich delaying poor litigants' cases. Barandbench emphasises the lawyer's breach of client confidentiality, Times of India foregrounds the access-to-justice argument. Both report the same Rs 5 lakh cost and the bench's refusal to redact names. The measured reading: the Court found both parties had exploited the legal process for 11 years. The key takeaway is the bench's wider principle, the court is not a forum for manufactured spectacles. Watch for the Bar Council to re-examine its disciplinary procedures after this stringent judicial review. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - barandbench.com (neutral report) Leads with bench's personal rebuke of both parties for lack of candour, includes detailed quotes on lawyer's confidentiality breach - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Frames the case as 'luxury litigation' blocking poor litigants, emphasises the access-to-justice angle This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-24T02:15:48+00:00. Tags: Bar Council of India, Rehana Khan, Rizwan Siddiquee, Supreme Court of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-fines-actress-lawyer-rs-5-lakh-each/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-fines-actress-lawyer-rs-5-lakh-each/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/