Introduction

The Advocates Act, 1961 contains rules and laws pertaining to advocates. The
major goal of the Act is to create a single class of legal practitioners known as
“advocates.” Advocates are permitted to represent clients before all courts and
tribunals in all states of Indian territory. The advocates can only join one state
Bar Council [vide Section 17(4) of the Act], although they are free to move to
another State Bar Council. The Indian Bar Councils Act has been replaced by the
Advocates Act, 1961. The Advocate Act of 1961 was created in order to carry
out the recommendations of the All India Bar Committee, which were supported
by the Law Commission’s fourteenth report in 1955. This Act’s primary goal is to
unite and create a single class of attorneys called “advocate

History of the Advocates Act, 1961

India’s legal profession was managed under the Advocates Act, of 1961, which
was set up by Parliament after Independence. The All India Bar Committee was
established in 1953 by the government to oversee and control the Indian
judiciary after Independence in 1947. The Advocates Act and the Bar Council of
India were formed in 1961 as a result of a recommendation submitted to
Parliament by the All-India Bar Committee. Legal practitioners were divided into
various classes under the Legal Practitioners Act of 1879 until the Advocates
Act, 1961 came into effect. They were classified as Advocates, Lawyers, Vakils,
Barristers, etc. After the Act came into effect, several classes of legal
practitioners were abolished and combined into one class of advocates. These
advocates were categorised as Senior Advocates and other subdivision
advocates based on their qualifications for expertise and experience. Senior
Advocates are given the title with the Supreme Court’s or the High Court’s
confirmation.

Main features of the bill behind Advocates Act,

1961
The bill’s primary features were:

• The All India Bar Council must be established, there must be a single
class of attorneys, and it must grant attorneys the right to practise in
any area of the country, in any High Court, as well as at the Supreme
Court of India.
 • Combining the bar together into a single class of legal practitioners
known as advocates.
• The procedures of a uniform qualification for admitting individuals as
advocates and qualifying them as advocates.
• According to their merit, senior advocates and other advocates must be
divided.
• There must be the establishment of autonomous Bar Councils, one for
all of India and another for each State.

characteristics of the Advocate Act, 1961

• The Advocates Act, 1961 had the following features: It established the
Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils and paved the way for their
formation.
• Even though advocates may be transferred from one state to another,
advocates are not permitted to enrol in more than one State-Bar
Council.
• A self-governing authority has been given to the Bar Council.
• Additionally, the Act has made it possible for advocates to work in
positions that are similar all across the world.
• It also included provisions that allowed for the consolidation of all legal
system legislation into a single class or document.
• Various Bar Council regulations have been implemented in both state
and central laws.
• A single title called ‘advocate’ replaced the several titles that were
previously granted to advocates such as legal practitioners, vakils,
attorneys, etc.
• On the basis of their qualifications, experience, and level of expertise,
there are senior advocates and other advocates as legal practitioners.
• The act primarily focuses on the consolidation of existing legal laws for
the legal profession.
• The Bar Council was given control over an autonomous body that has
been assigned certain duties.
• It may be seen that the Bar Council is a member of a number of
international organisations, including the international bar organisation.
The Bar Council is a recognised legal entity with the ability to acquire
both moveable and immovable property through litigation.
 • Additionally, there are several state Bar Councils that are under the
control of the All-India Bar Council.
• They also have the same responsibilities as the All-India Bar Council,
but they solely look after their particular states. The Bar Council was
granted an autonomous entity that is entrusted with these
responsibilities.
• According to the Act, State Bar Councils must exist in every state.

Definitions under the Advocate Act, 1961

• Advocate: The term ‘advocate’ is discussed under Section 2(1)(a) of
the Act. A person who has registered on any roll created by this Act is
an advocate. There were various classifications of legal professionals
known as pleaders, vakils, lawyers, and attorneys before the
enactment of this Act.

Functions of the Indian Bar Council (Section 7 of Advocates Act,

1961)
The following are the functions of the Bar Council of India under Section 7 of the
Act:

• It must establish standards of professional conduct and etiquette for

advocates;
• It must establish specific procedures to be followed by its disciplinary
committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council;
• Their primary function is to prepare and maintain a common roll of
advocates and to exercise general supervision and control over State
Bar Councils;
• Its duties include general supervision of and control over state Bar
Councils.
• It has to promote legal education.
• It has to set standards for that education in consultation with state Bar
Councils and universities in India that deal with higher education.
• They also have the responsibility of identifying the universities where a
law degree qualifies a graduate for enrolment as an advocate, and to
that end, they either visit and inspect those universities or give State
Bar Councils specific directions to visit and inspect.
 • They also recognise a reciprocal basis for foreign legal qualifications
gained outside of India for the purpose of admission as an advocate
under the Act.
• Other duties exist that are similar to those of the Indian State Bar
Council. The Bar Council of India carries out such activities as setting
up one or more funds for the organisation of welfare programmes for
poor and disabled advocates providing legal assistance and advice, as
well as for establishing law libraries. Additionally, they receive gifts,
donations, and benefaction.

Functions of State Bar Councils (Section 6 of Advocates Act,

1961
• The Council must compile, maintain, and keep a record of such a roll in
addition to allowing applicants to be listed as advocates.
• If there is any misconduct on the part of any of the advocates on its
list, the council must investigate it and make a decision;
• It must also defend the rights, privileges, and interests of those
advocates;
• It must encourage the growth of the bar association in order to
effectively implement welfare programmes;
• It must support and promote law reform; and
• It must also host seminars and organise lectures by eminent jurists on
legal subjects.
• It also allows for the publication of journals and papers of legal
interest.
• It organises legal help for the poor in a prescribed manner;
• It facilitates elections for its members of the State Bar Council,
manages finances for the Bar Council, and invests those funds.
• They can visit and inspect universities in accordance with the
guidelines set forth in Section 7(1)(i);
• They can carry out all other duties imposed by the Act; and
• They must also take additional actions required for carrying out the
aforementioned duties.
 • The council shall establish one or more funds for the following
purposes:
o Providing financial assistance to set up welfare programmes
for the needy, the disabled, or other advocates;
o It also provides legal assistance or advice when rules are
adopted in this regard;
o To create law libraries.
• The State Council may accept grants, donations, gifts, or benefactions
for any of the purposes indicated in subsection 2 of Section 6, which
must be credited to the relevant fund or funds established under the
Subsection.

Punishments provided under the Advocate Act, 1961

Section 35 of the Act specifies the penalties for misconduct by advocates.

• It specifies that when a complaint is received or a State Bar Council

has grounds to suspect that any advocate listed on its register has
engaged in professional or other misconduct, it must send the matter
to its disciplinary committee for resolution.
• The State Bar Council’s disciplinary committee would be required to set
a hearing date, as well as arrange for notice to be sent to the State’s
advocate general and the involved attorney.
• The disciplinary committee shall provide the advocate and the advocate
general an opportunity to be heard and shall make any instructions
from the following categories:
• The complaint or procedures filed at the instance of the State Bar
Council where the complaint was submitted must be dismissed; the
committee may also reprimand the advocate.
• The committee has the authority to bar an advocate from practising for
as long it sees suitable and to have their name removed from the state
list of attorneys.
• An advocate whose licence to practice law has been suspended is not
permitted to appear before any Indian court, government agency, or
person during the suspension period.
Penalty for illegal practice in courts and before other authorities
(Section 45):

The consequences for engaging in the illegal practice in court or before other
authorities are outlined in Section 45. Any individual who practises in any court,
before any authority, or before any person who is not authorised to practise
under this Act shall be imprisoned for six months.

Right to practice (Section 30) and freedom of expression and speech:

Right of opposition to arrest:

Right to appear in any court:

Right to see an accused person in jail:

Right to professional communication:

The right to protect the secrecy of communications:

Right to pay a fee:

Right to refuse a case:

QUALIFICATION AND Disqualification

Certificate of enrolment (Section 22 of Advocates Act, 1961)
Section 24 of the Act outlines the requirements required to be admitted to the
Bar.

• The provision also states that the person would be qualified to be

admitted as an advocate on a State Roll if he meets the requirements,
which include being a citizen of India, being competent over the age of
21, having obtained a law degree, and passing the Bar Council of India
exam.
• The individual can enrol themselves under any State Bar Council if they
meet the necessary qualifications.
• After graduating with a single degree, the person must have completed
a 5-year integrated course or a 3-year law course.
• The Bar Council of India must recognise the degree if it was earned
from a foreign institution of higher learning.
• The advocate is required to pay the State Bar Council’s enrollment fee.
It must also satisfy any additional requirements, if any.

Case laws

Ex. Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India, (2002)

The Supreme Court of India has held in this landmark decision that lawyers do
not have the power to strike or call for a boycott of the court.

Judgement of the case

The Supreme Court of India decided that attorneys do not have the power to
call for a boycott of the court or to go on strike, not in a purely symbolic way.
On the other hand, lawyers have the choice to peacefully protest outside the
court building and away from its premises by making press statements,
participating in TV interviews, adhering to the rules for court premises, posting
additional notices, wearing armbands in black and white, or any other shade,
holding dharnas, etc.
Pratap Chandra Mehta v. State Bar council of M.P
& Ors, (2011)

Judgement of the case

As a result, the court decided that Rules 121 and 122A of the MP Rules are valid
because the Bar Council of India approved them. In order to uphold democratic
values and the high ethical standards of an advocate, the State Bar Council
must conduct itself in a democratic manner. The power of these rules does not
exceed or broader than that permitted under Section 15 of the Act. The court
also held that the rules of the M.P. State Bar Council are unambiguous and that
the Bar Council of India has approved the revised rules.

K.Anjinappa v. K.C. Krishna Reddy, (2021)

Judgement of the case

The appeal against the advocate under Section 35 of the Advocates Act was
thus denied by the Supreme Court.

How does an advocate become eligible to enrol as

an advocate?
He or she must possess a legal degree and be an Indian citizen. He or she must
give the State Bar Council an enrollment fee. His name would be evaluated by
the enrollment committee, which would either approve or reject his application.
If the application is turned down, the National Bar Council will be notified along
with the reasons why, and the other state Bar Councils will also be informed.
The applicant may appeal to the Supreme Court or the High Court challenging
the Bar Association’s decision.