CHAPTER -1

1. BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA ( AN OVERVIEW)

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body that regulates and represents the Indian bar. It was
created by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961. It prescribes standards of professional
conduct, etiquettes and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar. It also sets standards for
legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose degree in law will serve as a
qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates upon graduation. In addition, it
performs certain representative functions by protecting the rights, privileges and interests of
advocates and through the creation of funds for providing financial assistance to organize
welfare scheme for them. The Bar Council of India consists of 18 Members. The Attorney
General of India and the Solicitor General of India are Ex-Officio Members of the council and
the other 16 Members represent the 16 State Bar Councils in the country. The Members are
elected for a period of five years and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected for a period
of two years from among the Members of the Bar Council of India. The Bar Council further
consists of various committees viz., Legal Education Committee, Disciplinary Committee,
Executive Committee, Legal Aid Committee, Advocates Welfare Fund Committee, Rules
Committee and various other Committees formed to look into specific issues arising from time
to time.

Section 4 of the Bar Council of India provides:

(1) There shall be a Bar Council for the territories to which this Act extends to be known as the
Bar Council of India which shall consist of the following members, namely:-

a) the Attorney-General of India, ex officio;

b) the Solicitor-General of India, ex officio;

c) one member elected by each State Bar Council from amongst its members.

Section 4(1-A) of the Act makes it clear that no person shall be eligible for being elected as a
member of the Bar Council of India unless he possesses the qualifications specified in the
proviso to sub-section (2) of section 3. Provided that such person shall continue to carry on the
duties of his office until the Chairman or the Vice- Chairman, as the case may be, of the Council,
elected after the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 (38 of 1977),
assumes charge of the office. Section 4(3) of the Act provides that the term of office of a
member of the Bar Council of India elected by the State Bar Council shall-
(i) In the case of a member of a State Bar Council who holds office ex officio, be two years
from the date of his election [or till he ceases to be a member of the State Bar Council,
whichever is earlier]; and
(ii) In any other case, be for the period for which he holds office as a member of the state
bar council

Provided that every such member shall continue to hold office as a member of the Bar
Council of India until his successor is elected.

Section 10-A of the Act provides that The Bar council of India shall meet at New Delhi
or at such other place as it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, determine. A
State Bar Council shall meet at its headquarters or at such other place as it may, for
reasons to be recorded in writing, determine. The committees other than disciplinary
committees constituted by the Bar Councils shall meet at the headquarters of the
respective Bar councils. Every Bar Council and every committee thereof except the
disciplinary committees shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the
transaction of business at their meetings as may be prescribed. The disciplinary
committees constituted under section 9 shall meet at such times and places and shall
observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at their
meetings as may be prescribed. Section 10-B of the Act provides that an elected
member of a Bar Council shall be deemed to have vacated his office if he is declared by
the Bar Council of which he is a member to have been absent without sufficient excuse
from three consecutive meetings of such Council, or if his name is, for any cause
removed from the roll of advocates or if he is otherwise disqualified under any rule
made by the Bar Council of India. Section 14 of the Act provides that no election of a
member to a Bar Council shall be called in question on the ground merely that due
notice thereof has not been given to any person entitled to vote thereat, if notice of the
date has, not less than thirty days before that date, been published in the Official
Gazette.

1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

1950
After the Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, the Inter-University
Board at its annual meeting held in Madras, passed a resolution stressing the need for
an all-India bar and emphasising the desirability of having uniformly high standards for
law examinations in different Universities of the country in view of the fact that a
Supreme Court of India had been established.
In May 1950, the Madras Provincial Lawyers Conference held under the presidency of
Shri S. Varadachariar resolved that the Government of India should appoint a
committee for the purpose of evolving a scheme for an all-India Bar and amending the
Indian Bar Councils Act to bring it in conformity with the new Constitution.
At its meeting held on October 1, 1950, the Bar Council of Madras adopted that
resolution.

1951

Shri Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, a Member of Parliament, introduced on April 12,
1951, a comprehensive bill to amend the India Bar Councils Act.
The Government of India took the view that in the changed circumstances of
independence, a comprehensive Bill sponsored by the Government was necessary. In
August 1951, the then Minister of Law announced on the floor of the House that the
Government of India was considering a proposal to set up a Committee of Inquiry to go
into the problem in detail. The Committee was constituted and asked to examine and
report on:
1. The desirability and feasibility of a completely unified Bar for the whole of India,
2. The continuance or abolition of the dual system of counsel and solicitor (or agent)
which obtains in the Supreme court and in the Bombay and Calcutta High Courts,
3. The continuance or abolition of different classes of legal practitioners, such as
advocates of the Supreme Court, advocates of the various High Courts, district court
pleaders, mukhtars (entitled to practice in criminal courts only), revenue agents, and
income-tax practitioners,
4. The desirability and feasibility of establishing a single Bar Council for (1) the whole
of India and (2) for each State,
5. The establishment of a separate Bar Council for the Supreme Court,
6. The consolidation and revision of the various enactments (Central as well as State)
relating to legal practitioners, and
7. All other connected matters.
This All India Bar Committee was headed by the Hon’ble Shri S. R. Das, Judge, Supreme
Court of India. The Committee consisted of the following members:
1. Shri M. C. Setalvad, Attorney General of India,
2. Dr. Bakshi Tek Chand, retired High Court Judge,
3. Shri V. K. T. Chari, Advocate-General of Madras,
4. Shri V. Rajaram Aiyar, Advocate-General of Hyderabad,
5. Shri Syed A, Kazmi, M.P., Advocate, Allahabad,
6. Shri C. C. Shah, M.P., Solicitor, Bombay, and
7. Shri D. M. Bhandari, M.P., Advocate, Rajasthan High Court.

1953

The All India Bar Committee submitted its detailed report on March 30, 1953. The
report contained the proposals for constituting a Bar Council for each state and an All-
India Bar Council at the national level as the apex body for regulating the legal
profession as well as to supervise the standard of legal education in India.
Meanwhile, the Law Commission of India had been assigned the job of preparing a
report on the reforms of judicial administration.

1961

To implement the recommendations of the All-India Bar Committee and taking into
account the Law Commission’s recommendations relating to the legal profession, a
comprehensive Advocates Bill was introduced in the Parliament which resulted in the
the Advocates Act, 1961.

1.2 HISTORY OF LEGAL PROFESSION

The development of the legal profession has received a lot of attention from scholars.
This can be seen in Paul Brand’s The Origins of the English Legal Profession (1992), and
J.H. Baker’s The Legal Profession and The Common Law – Historical Essays (1986). The
eminent jurist Roscoe Pound also wrote The Lawyer from Antiquity to Modern Times
(1953).
In Peter Coss (Ed.), Thomas Wright’s Political Songs of England (1996), the following
verse occurs:
“Attorneys in country, they get silver for naught;
They make men begin what they never had thought;
And when they come to the ring, they hop if they can.
All they can get that way, they think all is won for them
With skill.
No man should trust them, so false are they in the bile.”
Law and its practice is a professional responsibility. The regulation of the legal
profession is supported by considerable academic research:
“Lawyers, economists and other social scientists have found occupational and
professional regulation to be a provocative topic of study.”
In England, the admission of lawyers has been regulated since the middle of the 13th
century. In the late 13th century, three critical regulations were adopted – a. the
Statute of Westminster I, chapter 29 (1275); b. The London Ordinance of 1280; and c.
the Ordinance of 1292, de Attornatis et Apprenticiis. During the medieval period,
further regulations were enacted, called the Statute, 4 Henry IV, chapter 18 (1402) and
the Ordinance, 33 Henry VI, chapter 7 (1455). In addition, judges have always used
their inherent power to control the admission of lawyers and check their misconduct.
Legal profession during Edward I’s period (1272-1307)
Legal profession after Edward I
Professional Conduct and the Law Society
Legal profession in America
Legal Profession in India

Legal profession during Edward I’s period (1272-1307

The legal profession first seems to have emerged in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307).
At that point of time, it included two types of lawyers – the serjeants and
attorneys. Serjeants were pleaders who spoke for the clients while attorneys handled
procedural matters. Later, attorneys also appeared on behalf of litigants.
Initially, both the pleaders and attorneys assisting the litigants were amateurs.
However, over time, these individuals began to appear repeatedly to assist litigants.
Thus these individuals developed expertise as a result of their experience and were
sought out by litigants and they charged for their services.
In the middle of the 12th century, and particularly through the 13th century, famous
legal figures such as Ranulf Glanvill and Ralph de Hengham emerged. Thus, identifiable
precursors or predecessors of professional lawyers emerged in the early 13th century.
The appointment of an attorney was called “responsalis”. The writ for an attorney to
act in Court, in place of his principal was called “ad lucrandum vel
perdendum”. Individual attorneys could appear in Court either as a special attorney, or
as a general attorney on behalf of a client for numerous matters over a period of
time. However, by the end of the 13th century, restrictions limiting the use of the
serjeants were removed and litigants commonly used professional serjeants to plead
their cases. Now statutes granted litigants the right to appoint and use attorneys. In
1268, a Charter of the city of London recognized a similar right for its citizens. Thus
professional lawyers practising on a full time basis created a budding English legal
profession.
There were major changes in the Court system. New Royal Courts and expert Judges
came into being. Thus, a legal environment was created for the existence of a
professional lawyer. Since serjeants were the aristocrats of medieval lawyers,
appointment as a serjeant was a significant honour. Serjeants were the sole
determining authority in case of judicial appointments. Hence, Chaucer called a serjeant
a “man of law”. The term itself was derived from a French expression serviens,
meaning “one who serves”. By the last quarter of the 13th century, the number of
serjeants increased. They then became primary pleaders in the Court of Common Pleas
and to a lesser extent in the other Royal Courts.
In the 1280s, a group called Apprentices of the Common Bench emerged. Initially,
apprentices were individuals studying to become serjeants. They functioned under the
supervision of serjeants or senior apprentices. By the end of the 13th century, the
apprentices were also representing clients and practising law. However, they were
essentially practising as attorneys and not pleaders.
In this period ending with the reign of Edward I, three enactments were critical.
The first was the Statute of Westminster I, chapter 29 (1275). This statute prohibited
conduct by ‘any serjeant-counter or other’ in the King’s Court that deceived the Court
or a party. A serjeant who committed this violation was to be punished with
imprisonment for a year and a day, and prohibition on further pleading.
Chapter 29 prohibited misconduct which occurred in a judicial proceeding because of its
negative impact on the justice system. Chapter 29 was applied to attorneys and
pleaders with the same punishment being awarded to them. Conduct such as false
pleading, misfeasance, common law fraud, false recitals in a writ, false statements in a
pleading and various forms of defective or unjustified litigation were covered under the
punishment.

The were those of being disbarred, imprisonment for a year and a day, to imprisonment
only, a shorter imprisonment, temporary suspensions of different lengths or a fine. The
cases involved lawyers committing a wide range of misconduct, such as forgery of writs,
altering, damaging or removing official documents. Various other offences were
punished. These offences were : a. conflict of interest and other breaches of client
loyalty, b. making false statements in Court, to the client, the opponent, and in
pleadings and other documents, c. acting as an attorney without proper authority d.
failing to act – an early termination of representation e. offending judges by
unconvincing arguments, over enthusiasm, or not speaking in good faith.
The London Ordinance of 1280 was a long and a detailed enactment. This enactment
regulated both admission to practice and lawyer conduct in the courts of London. The
function of a countor was to stand and plead, and count counts and make propositions
at the Bar, which prohibited unprofessional pleading. The penalties for violations
included short suspensions and fines. The penalty for violating the simultaneous
conflict of interest prohibition was suspension for three years.
The Ordinance of 1292 dealt with the admission of attorneys and apprentices to the
Common Bench. It directed the Chief Justice and other Justices to regulate the number
of attorneys admitted to practice before the Common Bench. They were also directed
to establish quotas for each county. According to Holdsworth, these Ordinances were
issue as there were large complaints against lawyers by members of the general public.
It was believed that the number of lawyers should be reduced in order to reduce lawyer
misconduct.
Most legal historians have accepted that the Ordinance of 1292 was a major stage in
the development of the legal profession in England. In fact, this was the beginning of
the long-standing belief that attorneys were officers of the Court. This was attributed
because Judges directly admitted attorneys. Integrity and competence were both
required for admission. This was because the standard of admission resembled the
good moral criterion to modern admission controls. Statutes like the Statute of
Conspirators, 1292, and the 1305 Ordinance of Conspirators prohibiting false litigation
were also steps in that direction.

Legal profession after Edward I

In the early 17th century, the influence of serjeants as a professional group declined. As
a result of this, apprentices became the more important group of pleaders and were
the predecessors of today’s barristers. By the middle of the 14th century, they created
the Inns of Court. Although an attorney was a lawyer who represented the client in
Court on the client’s behalf, he was not allowed to plead. An attorney appeared on
behalf of his client. This would be clear from the French verb attorner, which means ‘to
assign or depute for a particular purpose’. The attorneys’ primary function was to
appear in Court to manage the litigation of the clients.
Separation between attorneys and serjeants model for solicitor-barrister separation
The formal division of the English legal profession into solicitors and barristers can be
traced back to the separation between the attorneys and the serjeants. Attorneys were
the predecessors of the serjeants.
It may be pointed out that canon and ecclesiastical lawyers (dealing with laws with
regard to the Church) existed both in England and in Continental Europe. Canon lawyers
appeared in the English ecclesiastical Courts. The canon lawyers were also divided like
common law lawyers. The pleader was called the ecclesiastical advocatus while the
attorney was called the ecclesiastical procurator. According to Pollock and Maitland,
professional canons for advocates served to set an example for professional common
law pleaders. In England, the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge imparted
legal education based on canon and Roman law. They did not include any instruction in
English common law.
The instruction in English common law appeared only in the 18th century with
Blackstone’s famous Vinerian lectures. However, in Continental Europe, legal
instruction was much older. The oldest were the lectures at the celebrated law school
of the University of Bologna in which Roman and civil law was taught.
The education of pleaders through apprentices who were studying to become serjeants
was the backbone of legal education. They were taught to regularly attend Court and
judicially encouraged to observe the working of Courts as well as serjeants. That is how
the Inns of Court were established.
The regulation of the legal profession incorporated principles of discipline, definition of
malpractice and other civil liability to injured clients, judicial and institutional controls,
and legislative approaches. In England, solely the Judges imposed discipline. Hence,
there did not exist any separate disciplinary authorities and regulatory agencies.
Moreover, judicial sanctions were commonly imposed. These sanctions were imposed
to give effect to statutes and ordinances, as well as inherent judicial power.
Between the end of the reign of Edwards I and the end of 15th century, there was less
regulatory activity. The assault on champerty and maintenance continued. Statutes
imposing additional prohibitions and remedies were passed in 1327, 1331, 1347, 1377
and 1383. By the end of 14th century, serjeants had a monopoly on pleading in the
Common Bench. Thus, the serjeants were considered to be a guild.
With the development of petitions to Parliament in the early 14th century, petitions
became a vehicle for complaints about lawyers.
Statute 4 Henry IV, Chapter 18 (1402) aimed at regulating admission of regulating
attorneys and misconduct. The statute required that the justices were to examine all
attorneys including those already in practice. The justices were to apply their discretion
and enroll only those who were ‘good and virtuous and of good fame…’ It was believed
that this statute stressed upon the notion that attorneys were officers of the Court and
that judicial control of admission was important to limit numbers, ensure competence
and eliminate misconduct.
Ordinance 33 Henry VI, Chapter 7 (1455) was aimed at controlling attorney admission in
the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and the city of Norwich. Thus the previous
instances of modern regulation of lawyers were evident in the medieval regulation of
the profession.
The standards in the legal profession, in a certain sense, originated due to the
ecclesiastical Courts (Courts dealing with matters of the Church) – both in England and
Europe. Oaths were a part of ancient tradition. The Roman oath required that an
advocate should avoid deception and circumlocution. An advocate should speak only
that which he believed to be true. He was to avoid the use of injurious language or
malicious statements against his adversary. The ecclesiastical courts in England set an
oath for advocates, and the Council in St. Paul’s in 1237 issued an oath for ecclesiastical
advocates that addressed their litigation conduct. The obligation of a lawyer was to
defend his client both according to law and reason. But the decree warned that
advocates who “persuade witnesses, or instruct the parties to give false evidence or
suppress the truth” would be suspended from office and subjected to additional
punishment for repeated violations.
In fact, the oath for advocates in the Court of Arches in London introduced by
Archbishop Kilwardy provided that a lawyer would reject unjust causes, not seek unjust
delays and not knowingly infringe on ecclesiastical liberties. This included the duty of
‘not to charge excessive fees’. It was in the mid-19th century that the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction came to be abolished. Incidentally, the original speeches from the early
15th century encouraged serjeants to serve the poor.
The following exhortation of Lord Whitlocke is noteworthy:
“For your duty to particular clients you may consider, that some are rich, yet with such
there must be endeavour to lengthen causes, to continue fees. Some are poor, yet
their business must not be neglected if their cause be honest; they are not the worst
clients, though they fill not your purses, they will fill the ears of God with prayers for
you and he who is the defender of the poor will repay your charity”.
Thus, apprentices who had long trained at the Inns of Court became barristers and
received ethical instruction as part of their training. The special wisdom of decorum and
ethics came from the serjeants. Barristers were governed and disciplined by Courts and
the Inns. The barristers, through educational dialogue, passed on ethical traditions and
developed new ones. Barristers unquestionably developed new standards. The bias
against advertisement started as etiquette handed down in the Inns by barristers. These
barristers believed that they were superior to the mere trade work of attorneys and
solicitors. Likewise, barristers developed standards demanding that they separate
themselves from the lay client and not sue lay clients to collect fees.
An attorney was required to take the following oath:
“You shall do no falsehood nor consent to any to be done in the Office of Pleas of this
court wherein you are admitted as an attorney” .
English Courts used their inherent power as well as the 1275 Statute to impose a duty
of loyalty and confidentiality on attorneys. In fact the history of the attorney-client
privilege began with the reign of Elizabeth I.
In 1605, Parliament enacted the 1605 Act which was “an Act to reform the multitudes
and misdemeanours of attorneys and solicitors of law, and to avoid unnecessary suits
and charges at law”. In 1654, the Court of Common Pleas directed that a jury of able
and credible officers, clerks and attorneys be empanelled every three years to oversee
discipline of attorneys. This panel was also to set a table of “due and just fees”.
In 1729, Parliament enacted an Act for the better regulation of attorneys and solicitors,
providing for strict admission procedures. The 1729 Act required lawyers to swear to a
shorter oath. The new oath provided that “That I will truly and honestly
demean myself in the practice of an attorney, according to the best of my knowledge
and ability”.
In England, the position of Serjeant-at-Law was discontinued and was replaced by
the King’s Counsel (or Queen’s Counsel, as the case may be). They were appointed by
Royal patent, were admitted only upon taking an oath, and had a monopoly of all
practices. They were directly answerable to the King as parts of his judicial system.
The earliest form of an attorney’s oath on record is found in the Red Book of the
Exchequer.
“The Oath of Attorneys in the Office of Pleas: You shall doe noe Falshood nor consent
to anie to be done in the office of Pleas of this Courte wherein you are admitted an
Attorney. And if you shall knowe of anie to be done you shall give Knowledge thereof
to the Lord Chiefe Baron or other his Brethren that it may be reformed you shall Delay
noe Man for Lucre Gaine or Malice you shall increase noe Fee but you shall be
contended with the old Fee accustomed. And further you shall use your selfe in the
Office of Attorney in the said office of Pleas in this Courte according to your best
Learninge and Discrecion. So helpe you God.”

Professional Conduct and the Law Society

The attorneys were expelled from the principal Inns of Court in the 16th century and in
1739 they formed a professional group called “Society of Gentleman-Practicers in the
Courts of Law and Equity”. Thus the Law Society was born, though it was not until 1986
that the Law Society formed a committee to collect and draft principles of professional
conduct. Now there exists the Guide to Professional Conduct of Solicitors reflecting the
ideals of modern solicitors as well. Both branches of the English legal profession had
the same core duties over the centuries of litigation: fairness, competence, loyalty,
confidentiality, reasonable fees and service to the poor.
Nicholas, in Introduction to Roman Law stated that the Roman jurists were not paid for
their work, but were supposed to function due to a keen sense of public service. In
Europe, lawyers were under an oath, which was an essence, a condensed code of legal
ethics.
In France, lawyers had to take an oath which included a pledge of care, diligence and an
agreement to support only just causes. In France, the oaths were taken by ecclesiastical
lawyers and the French legal tradition had a lasting influence even outside France in
Switzerland and other parts of Europe.
The concept of a lawyer as an officer of the Court is arises from the Roman idea of a
lawyer being an advocatus, who when called upon by the praetor to assist in the cause
of a client, was solemnly reprimanded to “avoid artifice and circumlocution”.
The concept of oath was common to Europe. Fredrick the Second of Germany,
prescribed the oath as follows:
“We will that the advocates to be appointed, as well in our court as before the justices
and bailiffs of the provinces, before entering upon their offices, shall take their corporal
oath on the Gospels, that the parties whose cause they have undertaken they will, with
all good faith and truth, without any tergiversation, succour; nor will they allege
anything against their sound conscience; nor will they undertake desperate causes; and,
should they have been induced, by misrepresentation and the colouring of the party to
undertake a cause which, in the progress of the suit, shall appear to them, in fact or
law, unjust, they will forthwith abandon it. Liberty is not to be granted to the
abandoned party to have recourse to another advocate. They shall also swear that, in
the progress of the suit, they will not require an additional fee, nor on the part of the
suit enter into any compact; which oath it shall not be sufficient for them to swear to
once only, but they shall renew it every year before the officer of justice. And if any
advocate shall attempt to contravene the aforesaid form of oath in any cause, great or
small, he shall be removed from his office, with the brand of perpetual infamy, and pay
three pounds of the purest gold into our treasury.”
The French recognized the role of a lawyer in the Capitularies of Charlemagne as a
professional lawyer. Nobody should be admitted to the profession except for men,
“mild, pacific, fearing God and loving justice, upon pain of elimination.”
In Denmark and Norway, the Code of Christian V provided as follows:
“Lawyers who are allowed to plead Causes, shall be Men of Probity, Character, and
known Repute.
In cities shall be appointed such a number of lawyers as are really requisite.
No one shall be admitted as a Lawyer to act, who does not take an oath before the
Mayor and Aldermen, that he will undertake no Cause he knows to be bad, or
iniquitous; that he will avoid all Fraud in pleading, bringing Evidence, and the like: That
he will abstain from all Cavils, Querks and Chicanery; and never seek by Absence,
Delays, or superfluous Exceptions, to procrastinate a Suit: That he will use all possible
Brevity in transcribing Processes, Deeds, Sentences, etc. That he will never encourage
Discord, or be the least Hindrance to Reconciliation: That he will exact no exorbitant
Fees from the Poor, or others: And that he will act honestly, and to the best of his
Power, for all his Clients. Of this Oath the Judges shall admonish the Lawyers in dubious
Cases, and if they think proper, require a Renewal of it in the Court: And moreover,
command them to abstain from all Manner of Scurrility, and Abuse, in their Pleadings,
especially where the process does not concern the Fame of the Defendant.
A Lawyer defective in this his Duty shall be discarded, rendered incapable of ever after
pleading, and moreover punished in Proportion to his Offense.”

Legal profession in America

In the United States as well, a lawyer is regarded as an officer of the Court and is
admitted to the Bar only upon taking of an official oath. In America, until 1875, there
were no formal academic requirements to be a lawyer, because there was neither
required schooling nor tests.
The first regulatory code was written in 1836 by Judge Hoffman of Baltimore. The Code
touches on most of the problem areas confronting even modern lawyers. Hoffman’s
resolution suggests that justice should be the only motivation of lawyers, including the
resolution that ‘lawyers must have humility regarding their own knowledge of the
law’. The Hoffman Code states that lawyers must quote the law objectively with
‘honour’. Their reasoning should be objective and creative. This was followed by
Alabama’s Legal Ethics Code of 1887. The Code stated that morality was the only
safeguard to having a good professional Bar.
The canons of professional ethics was approved by the American Bar Association in
1908 and continued till 1960s. The preamble stated that public must have confidence in
the “integrity and impartiality of the legal profession”. This was replaced by the 1969
American Bar Association (“ABA”) Code of Professional Responsibility. In a project
called Ethics 2000, the American Bar Association reorganized its model rules of
professional conduct.
The six traditional core duties now identified by ABA are – a) litigation fairness, b)
competence, c) loyalty, d) confidentiality, e) reasonable fees, and f) public service.
The Colonies and early States used oaths, statutes, judicial oversight and procedural
rules to govern behaviour of attorneys. The oath was the most expansive single listing
of ethical standards for early American lawyers. Many of the States enacted laws to
regulate attorneys’ fees. The Bar Association later reflected the broader range of
substantive concerns and dealt primarily with admission standards and procedures.
David Dudley Field was the drafter of the highly influential New York Code, popularly
called the Field Code. This Code introduced a new set of uniform standards of conduct
for lawyers. One of the duties of a lawyer was to maintain the respect due to the
Courts of Justice as well as judicial offices. In fact, after the Field Code was drafted,
Hoffman and Sharswood were able to use legal education to develop the standards of
conduct for lawyers in the mid 19th century. (Hoffman was a Professor of Law at the
University of Maryland and Sharswood was a Professor at the University of
Pennsylvania. Most academicians believe that the works of Hoffman and Sharswood
are significant in the field of American legal ethics.)
Of course, by the end of the 19th century, a new form of ethical standards began to
guide lawyers in their practice, called the American Bar Association Code of Legal
Ethics. It may be pointed out that although the ABA’s works are merely models and are
themselves not binding on any lawyer, most States have adopted the ABA models with
slight local variations. As mentioned above, the ABA again brought about
comprehensive changes to the Model Rules in a project known as Ethics 2000. There
were further amendments in August 2002 and August 2003. As of 2003, 44 States and
the District of Columbia had adopted some version of the Model Rules.
A lawyer being an officer of the Court enjoys a license to certain special privileges,
which otherwise he would not be entitled to. The advocate is therefore an officer sui
generis of the Court and subject to the rules imposed by the Court in regulation to the
practice therein. He is a quasi officer of the State. The power and responsibility for the
administration of justice rests on him. The fundamental idea underlying the lawyers’
profession has been expressed in a North Carolina case (InRe Application of Delingham )
In a book called The Lawyer’s Oath and Office, it was noted that:-
“Why is any oath required for admission to the practice of the law? No oath is required
by law for admission to practice in any other profession, even where qualifications to
practice are prescribed or ascertained by examinations required by law, as in the case
of physicians. But an official oath has always been required for admission to the
practice of the law. Why is it required? What is its significance, and what obligation
does it impose?
The significance of the lawyer’s oath is that it stamps the lawyer as an officer of the
State, with rights, powers and duties as important as those of the Judges themselves.
……… A lawyer is not the servant of his client. He is not the servant of the Court. He is
an officer of the Court, with all the rights and responsibilities which the character of the
office gives the imposes.”
In Ex parte Garland, it was decided that the right to practice law was neither property
nor a contract but was a right of which the lawyer could not be deprived of. The lawyer
can only be deprived of this right only when a good cause can be shown after judicial
proceedings. It was observed by Field, J. that:
“The attorney and counsellor being, by solemn judicial act of the court clothed with his
office, does not hold it as a matter of grace. The right which it confers upon him to
appear for suitors, and to argue causes, is something more than a mere indulgence,
revocable at the pleasure of the court, or at the command of the legislature. It is a right
of which he can only be deprived by the judgment of the court for moral or professional
delinquency. They hold their office during good behaviour, and can only be deprived of
it for misconduct ascertained and declared by the judgment of the court after
opportunity to be heard has been afforded.”
A lawyer is an officer of the Court because the power of admitting a lawyer to practice
law is judicial in its nature and is vested in the Courts. It is settled law in the United
States that whatever the general jurisdiction of the Courts over the subject may be, the
legislature can exercise police power by prescribing reasonable rules and regulations for
admission to the Bar which will be followed by the Courts.
Selden, J. in Re Cooper observed that:
“Attorneys and counsellors are not only officers of the Court, but officers whose duties
relate almost exclusively to proceedings of a judicial nature, and hence their
appointment may with propriety be entrusted to the courts, and the latter in
performing this duty may very justly be considered as engaged in the exercise of their
proper judicial functions.”
In America, Courts authorized to admit attorneys to the Bar have inherent jurisdiction
to suspend or disbar them for sufficient cause. Such jurisdiction is not dependent upon
constitutional provision or a State enactment.
In Re Lambuth, the Supreme Court of Washington observed that:
“But the power to strike from the rolls is inherent in the court itself. No statute or rule
is necessary to authorize the punishment in any proper cases. Statutes and rules may
regulate the power but they do not create it. It is necessary for the protection of the
court, the proper administration of justice, the dignity and purity of the profession, and
for the public good and for the protection of clients. Attorneys may forfeit their
professional franchise by abusing it, and the power to exact the forfeiture is lodged in
the courts which have authority to admit attorneys to practice. Such power is
indispensable to protect the court, the administration of justice, and themselves; and
attorneys themselves are vitally concerned in preventing the vocation from being
sullied by the conduct of unworthy members.”
Sharswood in Legal Ethics notes that:
“With jurisprudence lawyers have most, nay, all to do. The opinion of the Bar will make
itself heard and respected on the Bench. With sound views, their influence for good in
this respect may well be said to be incalculable. It is indeed the noblest faculty of the
profession to counsel the ignorant, defend the weak and oppressed, and to stand forth
on all occasions as the bulwark of private rights against the assaults of power, even
under the guise of law; but it has still other functions. It is its office to diffuse sound
principles among the people, that they may intelligently exercise the controlling power
placed in their hands, in the choice of their representatives in the legislature and of
judges, in deciding, as they are often called upon to do, upon the most important
changes in the Constitution, and above all, in the formation of that public opinion which
may be said in these times, almost without a figure, to be the ultimate sovereign.”
The duties of a lawyer to the Court arise from the relationship which he has with the
Court as an officer in the administration of justice. Law is not a mere private profession
but is a profession which is an integral part of the judicial system of the State. As an
officer of the Court, the lawyer should uphold the dignity and integrity of the
Court. The lawyer must exercise at all times respect for the Court, in both words and
actions. He must present all matters relating to his client’s case openly. He should
being careful to avoid any attempt to exert private influence upon either the judge or
the jury. He should be frank and candid in all dealings with the Court, ‘using no deceit,
imposition evasion as by misreciting witnesses or misquoting precedents’.
It may be noted that Warvelle in Legal Ethics records:
But the lawyer is not alone a gentleman, he is a sworn minister of justice. His office
imposes high moral duties and grave responsibilities, and he is held to a strict
fulfillment of all that these matters imply. Interests of vast magnitude are intrusted to
him; confidence is imposed in him; life, liberty and property are committed to his
care. He must be equal to the responsibilities which they create, and if he betrays his
trust, neglects his duties, practises deceit, or panders to vice, then the most severe
penalty should be inflicted and his name stricken from the roll.
The obvious truth is that the lawyer owes a high duty to his profession and to his fellow
members of the Bar. His profession should be his pride, and to preserve its honour
should be among his chief concerns. “Nothing should be higher in the estimation of the
advocate” declares Mr. Alexander H. Robbins, “next after those sacred relations of
home and country than his profession. She should be to him the fairest of ten thousand
among the institutions of the earth. He must stand for her in all places and resent any
attack on her honour – as he would if the same attack were to be made against his own
fair name and reputation. He should enthrone her in the sacred places of his heart, and
to her he should offer the incense of constant devotion. For she is a jealous mistress.”
As regards the Bench, Warvelle remarks that the purity of the Bench also depends upon
the purity of the Bar:
“The very fact, then, that one of the co-ordinate departments of the government is
administered by men selected only from one profession gives to that profession a
certain pre-eminence which calls for a high standard of morals as well as intellectual
attainments. The integrity of the judiciary is the safeguard of the nation, but the
character of the judges is practically but the character of the lawyers. Like begets
like. A degraded Bar will inevitably produce a degraded Bench, and just as certainly
may we expect to find the highest excellence in a judiciary drawn from the ranks of a
enlightened, learned and moral Bar.”

Legal Profession in India

The history of the legal profession in India can be traced back to the establishment of
the First British Court in Bombay in 1672 by Governor Aungier. The admission of
attorneys was placed in the hands of the Governor-in-Council and not with the Court.
Prior to the establishment of the Mayor’s Courts in 1726 in Madras and Calcutta, there
were no legal practitioners.
The Mayor’s Courts, established in the three presidency towns, were
Crown Courts with right of appeal first to the Governor-in-Council and a right of second
appeal to the Privy Council. In 1791, Judges felt the need of experience, and thus the
role of an attorney to protect the rights of his client was upheld in each of the Mayor’s
Courts. This was done in spite of opposition from Council members or the Governor. A
second principle was also established during the period of the Mayor’s Courts. This was
the right to dismiss an attorney guilty of misconduct. The first example of dismissal was
recorded by the Mayor’s Court at Madras which dismissed attorney Jones.
The Supreme Court of Judicature was established by a Royal Charter in 1774. The
Supreme Court was established as there was dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of the
Court of the Mayor. Similar Supreme Courts were established in Madras in 1801 and
Bombay in 1823. The first barristers appeared in India after the opening of the
Supreme Court in Calcutta in 1774. As barristers began to come into the Courts on
work as advocates, the attorneys gave up pleading and worked as solicitors. The two
grades of legal practice gradually became distinct and separate as they were in
England. Madras gained its first barrister in 1778 with Mr. Benjamin Sullivan.
Thus, the establishment of the Supreme Court brought recognition, wealth and prestige
to the legal profession. The charters of the Court stipulated that the Chief Justice and
three puisne Judges be English barristers of at least 5 years standing.
The charters empowered the Court to approve, admit and enrol advocates and
attorneys to plead and act on behalf of suitors. They also gave the Court the authority
to remove lawyers from the roll of the Court on reasonable cause and to prohibit
practitioners not properly admitted and enrolled from practising in the Court. The Court
maintained the right to admit, discipline and dismiss attorneys and
barristers. Attorneys were not admitted without recommendation from a high official
in England or a Judge in India. Permission to practice in Court could be refused even to
a barrister.
In contrast to the Courts in the presidency towns, the legal profession in the
mofussil towns was established, guided and controlled by legislation. In the Diwani
Courts, legal practice was neither recognized nor controlled, and practice was carried
on by vakils and agents. Vakils had even been appearing in the Courts of the Nawabs
and there were no laws concerning their qualification, relationship to the Court, mode
of procedure of ethics or practice. There were two kinds of agents – a. untrained
relatives or servants of the parties in Court and b. professional pleaders who had
training in either Hindu or Muslim law. Bengal Regulation VII of 1793 was enacted as it
was felt that in order to administer justice, Courts, must have pleading of causes
administered by a distinct profession Only men of character and education, well versed
in the Mohamedan or Hindu law and in the Regulations passed by the British
Government, would be admitted to plead in the Courts. They should be subjected to
rules and restrictions in order to discharge their work diligently and faithfully by
upholding the client’s trust.

Establishment of the High Courts

In 1862, the High Courts started by the Crown were established at Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras. The High Court Bench was designed to combine Supreme Court and
Sudder Court traditions. This was done to unite the legal learning and judicial
experience of the English barristers with the intimate experience of civil servants in
matters of Indian customs, usages and laws possessed by the civil servants. Each of the
High Courts was given the power to make rules for the qualifications of proper persons,
advocates, vakils and attorneys at Bar. The admission of vakils to practice before the
High Courts ended the monopoly that the barristers had enjoyed in the Supreme
Courts. It greatly extended the practice and prestige of the Indian laws by giving them
opportunities and privileges equal to those enjoyed for many years by the English
lawyers. The learning of the best British traditions of Indian vakils began in a guru-
shishya tradition:
“Men like Sir V. Bashyam Ayyangar, Sir T. Muthuswamy Ayyar and Sir S. Subramania
Ayyar were quick to learn and absorb the traditions of the English Bar from their English
friends and colleagues in the Madras Bar and they in turn as the originators of a long
line of disciples in the Bar passed on those traditions to the disciples who continued to
do the good work.”
Additional High Courts were established in Allahabad (1886), Patna (1916), and Lahore
(1919).
There were six grades of legal practice in India after the founding of the High Courts – a)
Advocates, b) Attorneys (Solicitors), c) Vakils of High Courts, d) Pleaders, e) Mukhtars, f)
Revenue Agents. The Legal Practitioners Act of 1879 in fact brought all the six grades of
the profession into one system under the jurisdiction of the High Courts. The Legal
Practitioners Act and the Letters Patent of the High Courts formed the chief legislative
governance of legal practitioners in the subordinate Courts in the country until the
Advocates Act, 1961 was enacted.
In order to be a vakil, the candidate had to study at a college or university,
master the use of English and pass a vakil’s examination. By 1940, a vakil was required
to be a graduate with an LL.B. from a university in India in addition to three other
certified requirements. The certificate should be proof that a. he had passed in the
examination b. read in the chamber of a qualified lawyer and was of a good
character. In fact, Sir Sunder Lal, Jogendra Nath Chaudhary, Ram Prasad and Moti Lal
Nehru were all vakils who were raised to the rank of an Advocate.
Original and appellate jurisdiction of the High Court.
The High Courts of the three presidency towns had an original side. The
original side included major civil and criminal matters which had been earlier heard by
predecessor Supreme Courts. On the original side in the High Courts, the solicitor and
barrister remained distinct i.e. attorney and advocate. On the appellate side every
lawyer practiced as his own attorney.
However, in Madras the vakils started practice since 1866. In 1874, the barristers
challenged their right to do original side work. However, in 1916, this right was firmly
established in favour of the vakils. Similarly, vakils in Bombay and Calcutta could be
promoted as advocates and become qualified to work on the original side. By attending
the appellate side and original side Courts each for one year, a vakil of 10 years service
in the Court was permitted to sit for the advocates’ examination.
Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926.
The Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926 was passed to unify the various grades of legal
practice and to provide self-government to the Bars attached to various Courts. The Act
required that each High Court must constitute a Bar Council made up of the Advocate
General, four men nominated by the High Court of whom two should be Judges and ten
elected from among the advocates of the Bar. The duties of the Bar Council were to
decide all matters concerning legal education, qualification for enrolment, discipline
and control of the profession. It was favourable to the advocates as it gave them
authority previously held by the judiciary to regulate the membership and discipline of
their profession.
The Advocates Act, 1961 was a step to further this very initiative. As a result of the
Advocates Act, admission, practice, ethics, privileges, regulations, discipline and
improvement of the profession as well as law reform are now significantly in the hands
of the profession itself.

1.3 ABOUT THE COUNCIL

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body created by Parliament to regulate and
represent the Indian bar. We perform the regulatory function by prescribing standards
of professional conduct and etiquette and by exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over the
bar. We also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities
whose degree in law will serve as qualification for enrolment as an advocate.
In addition, we perform certain representative functions by protecting the rights,
privileges and interests of advocates and through the creation of funds for providing
financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for them.

The Bar Council of India was established by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961.
The following statutory functions under Section 7 cover the Bar Council’s regulatory and
representative mandate for the legal profession and legal education in India:
1. To lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
2. To lay down procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the
disciplinary committees of each State Bar Council.
3. To safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.
4. To promote and support law reform.
5. To deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred to it by a State Bar
Council.
6. To promote legal education and to lay down standards of legal education. This is
done in consultation with the Universities in India imparting legal education and
the State Bar Councils.
7. To recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment
as an advocate. The Bar Council of India visits and inspects Universities, or directs the
State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities for this purpose.
8. To conduct seminars and talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish
journals and papers of legal interest.
9. To organise legal aid to the poor.
10.To recognise on a reciprocal basis, the foreign qualifications in law obtained outside
India for the purpose of admission as an advocate in India.
11.To manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council.
12.To provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.
The Bar Council of India can also constitute funds for the following purposes:
1. Giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for poor, disabled or other
advocates,
2. Giving legal aid, and
3. Establishing law libraries.
The Bar Council of India can also receive grants, donations, and gifts for any of these
purposes.

1.4 POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

Admission as an Advocate

According to Section 20 of the Advocate Act, any advocate who had the right to practice
in the Supreme Court before the appointed day but was not listed in any state roll can
express their intention to the Bar Council.
They must do this within the prescribed time and using the prescribed form. Upon
receiving the application, the Bar Council of India will direct the respective state Bar
Council to enter the advocate’s name in the state roll without a fee.

Sending Copies of Rolls

Section 19 of the Advocate Act mandates that every State Bar Council must send an
authenticated copy of the advocate role, prepared for the first time under this Act, to
the Bar Council of India. Furthermore, any alterations or additions made to the roll
must be promptly communicated to the Bar Council of India.
Transfer of Name
Section 18 of the Advocate Act deals with transferring an advocate’s name from one
State Bar Council role to another. If an advocate wishes to transfer their name, they
must apply to the Bar Council of India.
Upon receiving the application, the Bar Council of India will direct the removal of the
advocate’s name from the first State Bar Council’s roll and its entry into the roll of the
other State Bar Council. No fee is required for this transfer.

Appointment of Committees and Staff Members

Section 9 empowers the Bar Council of India to appoint disciplinary committees, legal
aid committees, executive committees, legal education committees, and other
necessary committees.
Section 11 allows the Bar Council to appoint a secretary, accountant, and other staff
members as necessary. The secretary and accountant must possess the required
qualifications. Having a secretary is mandatory for the Bar Council.

Maintenance of Accounts
Under Section 12, the Bar Council of India must maintain books of accounts and other
relevant books in a prescribed format. Qualified auditors, similar to the auditing of
company accounts, must audit these accounts.
The Bar Council of India is also responsible for sending a copy of its accounts and the
auditors’ report to the Central Government. Furthermore, these accounts are published
in the Gazette of India.

Rules Making Power

The Bar Council of India can make rules under Section 15 of the Advocate Act. These
rules can cover various aspects such as the election of Bar Council members, the
chairman and vice-chairman, dispute resolution, filling of vacancies, powers and duties
of the chairman and vice-chairman, organisation of legal aid, meetings and conduct of
the business of committees, and management and investment of funds of the Bar
Council.

General Power and Punishment for Misconduct

Section 49 of the Advocate Act grants the Bar Council of India general power to make
rules for discharging its functions under the Act. Additionally, Section 36 empowers the
Bar Council to punish advocates for professional or other misconduct. The Bar Council
 of India can suspend advocates from practice, remove their names from the state roll,
dismiss complaints, or issue reprimands as it deems fit.

Appellate Power

Section 37 gives the Bar Council of India authority to hear appeals against the orders of
disciplinary committees. The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of India must
hear any appeal.
Furthermore, Section 38 allows individuals aggrieved by the order passed by the
Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India to file an appeal before the Supreme
Court within 60 days.
Other Powers and Functions

Apart from the aforementioned points, the Bar Council of India has additional powers
and functions.
These include:
• providing financial assistance to State Bar Councils that require funds to perform their
functions,
• preventing citizens of specified countries from practising law in India if those countries
prevent Indian citizens from practising law there,
• reviewing the legality and propriety of proceedings conducted by State Bar Councils or
their committees,
• giving its orders except in matters handled by the disciplinary committee, and
• providing directions to State Bar Councils or their committees to ensure the proper and
efficient discharge of their functions.

FUNCTIONS
The functions of the Bar Council of India are:

Establishment of the Bar Council of India

Parliament established the Bar Council of India under the Advocates Act of 1961. Its
main responsibilities include regulating the legal profession and legal education in India.

Statutory Functions of the Bar Council of India

The Bar Council of India has various statutory functions outlined in Section 7 of the
Advocates Act, 1961:

1. Standards of Professional Conduct: It lays down the standards of professional

conduct and etiquette for advocates.

2. Disciplinary Procedure: It establishes the procedure to be followed by its

disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committees of each State Bar Council.

3. Advocates’ Rights and Interests: It safeguards advocates right, privileges, and

interests.

4. Law Reform: It promotes and supports law reform initiatives.

5. Handling Referred Matters: It deals with and resolves matters referred to by State
Bar Councils.

6. Legal Education: It promotes legal education and sets standards for legal education
in consultation with universities and State Bar Councils. It also visits and inspects
universities or directs State Bar Councils to do so.

7. Recognising Qualifications: It recognises universities whose law degrees qualify for

enrollment as an advocate. Foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India may
also be recognised reciprocally.

8. Seminars and Publications: It organises seminars and talks on legal topics by

eminent jurists and publishes journals and papers of legal interest.

9. Legal Aid: It organises legal aid for the underprivileged.

10. Management of Funds: It manages and invests the funds of the Bar Council.
11. Election of Members: It provides for the election of members who will run the Bar
Councils.

Establishment of Funds

The Bar Council of India can establish one or more funds according to prescribed
procedures. These funds may be used to organise welfare schemes, provide legal aid or
advice, and establish law libraries. The Bar Council can receive grants, donations, gifts,
or benefactions for these purposes.

Membership in International Legal Bodies

Under Section 7(a) of the Advocate Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India may become a
member of international legal bodies like the International Bar Association or
International Legal Aid Association. It can contribute funds and authorise participation
in international legal conferences or seminars.

Prohibition of Strikes and Boycotts

The Bar Council of India must uphold professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
It is illegal and void for the Bar Council to pass resolutions instructing advocates not to
participate in legal aid programs or disrupt court proceedings.
Advocates who participate in strikes or boycotts can face disciplinary action by the
concerned State Bar Council. Advocates are obligated to ignore calls for strikes or
boycotts
1.5 STATE BAR COUNCIL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
Bar and Bench is the spinal cord of this legal system. Only a coordinated
activityof these entities can produce a smooth functioning of legal system. Eminentlawye
rs at the Bar receive almost the same respect as Judges. And only the cooperation and
unity among lawyers can make this system move forward. The Advocate Act, 1961, has
made provisions for the establishment of Bar Councils. The Bar Council will be two
patterns - Bar Council of India and State Bar Council

STRUCTURE
Section 3
Of the Advocates Act mandates that there shall be a Bar Council for every state, and it
shall be called as Bar Council of that state.”“As per
Section 5 of the Act, every Bar Council shall be a body corporate with perpetual
succession and common seal. It can acquire and hold properties. It can sue or be
sued.”“As per
Section 8 of the Act, the tenure of a member shall be five years from the date of
publication of the result. But if the Council fails to conduct an election before the expiry
of the term, it may extend such tenure by a maximum of six months by recording
reasons in writing.”“As per
Section 10B of the Act, an elected member to the council may be disqualified on the
grounds that he was absent in consecutive meetings or his name is removed from roll
of Advocates or he is disqualified under any rules prescribed by Bar Council of India.”

FUNCTIONS

Sec. 6 of the advocates act makes provision in respect of the function of state bar
council. It provides that the function of the state bar council shall be-
(a) To admit persons as advocate on its rolls:
(b) To prepare and maintain such roll:
(c) To entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll:
(d) To safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll:
(e) To promote and support law reform:
(f) To conduct seminars and organize talk on legal topics by jurists and publish journals
and papers of legal interests:
(g) To organized legal aid to the poor in prescribed manner
(h) To manage and invest the funds of the bar council:
(i) To provide for the election of its members:
(j) To perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this act:
(k) To do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.

Now, State bar council issued a certificate of enrollment in the prescribed form. Than
state bar council shall notify any change in the place of his permanent residence within
90 days of such change to every person whose name is entered in the state roll. Section
48 of the advocates act makes provision in respect of indemnity against the legal
proceedings.

1. ADMISSIONS AS ADVOCATES ON A STATE ROLL.

if any persons fulfill the conditions or terms for admissions as advocates, or enrolled as
advocate under this act and under the state bar council, an application of admissions of
admissions shall me made in the prescribed form to the state bar council within whose
jurisdiction the applicant proposes to practices. Which is clearly defined under section
24 of the advocates act.
Section 26-A of the advocate act empowers a state bar council to remove from the
state roll the name of any advocate who is dead or from whom a request has been
received or that effect.
Section 27 of the act state bar council refuses the application of any person on its roll,
No other state bar council shall entertain an application for admissions of such person
as an advocate on its rolls, except with the previsions consent in writing of the state bar
council which refused the application and of the Bar Council of India. And the state bar
council is required to issue a certificate of enrollment in the prescribed form to every
persons. Whose name is entered in the roll of advocates maintained by it under the act.

2.MAINTAINS OF ROLL OF ADVOCATES

Section 17 provides every state bar council shall prepare and maintain a roll of
advocates in which shall be entered the name and address of- 1. All persons who were
entered as advocates on roll of any High court under Indian Bar Councils, 1926,
immediately before the appointed day including persons being citizens of India who
before 15-8-1947, were enrolled as advocate under the said act in any area
which before the said date was comprised within India as defined in the government of
India act 1935, at any time express or entertain in the prescribed manner to practice
within the jurisdiction of the bar council. 2. All other persons who are admitted to be
advocates on the roll of the state bar council under this act on or after the appointed
date Each such roll of advocates shall consist of two parts, the first part containing the
names of senior advocates and second part, the names of other advocates

3.RULE MAKING POWER

The state bar council has been empowered to make rules regarding the for the welfare
of the advocates, such rules may provide for:-
(A). the time within which and form in which an advocate shall express his intention for
the entry of his name in the roll of a state bar council under section 20.
(b). the form in which an application shall be made to the bar council for admissions as
an advocate on its roll and the manner in which such application shall be disposed of by
the enrollment committee of the bar council.
(c). the conditions subject to which a person may be admitted as an advocate on any
such roll:
(d). the instalments in which the enrollment fee may be paid

4.POWER TO PUNISH FOR PROFESSIONAL OR OTHER MISCONDUCT

State bar council makes any rules or provision for the professional and misconduct,
accordingly
a. Date fixed for hearing by State bar council
b. Notice to advocate General
c. Refer case to disciplinary committee
d. Opportunity of being heard
e. Decision
1. Dismissal after hearing
2. Reprimand the advocate
3. Suspend from practice
4. Removed name of advocate from the state roll

5.MAINTAINCE OF ACCOUNTS

Section 12 of this act provides every bar council maintained books of accounts and
other books in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed. And it shall be
follow by Indian Companies act, 1956. And it is published by Central government.
CHAPTER 2