Part V-A - Bar Council of India

1 BAR Council OF INDIARULES(Under the Advocates Act, 1961) part V-ANotified in the Gazette of Indiavide part - III, Section - 4, New Delhi13th January, 2015 Approved and adopted by the Bar Council of India atits meeting held on 29th & 30th November , 2014, videresolution No. 216/2014(Rules under Section 49(1)(ag), 49(ah) and 49(i)of the Advocates Act, 1961 ChapterTitlePageExtracts of the minutes of the meeting ofgeneral Council of BCI held on29th/30th November, 20141-6 Chapter IPreliminary7-9 Chapter IILocal Bar Associations10 Chapter III11-12 Chapter IVApplications/Orders/Objection Petition withrespect to grant/verification of Certificate andPlace of Practice13-17 Chapter VFollow Up Action18 Chapter VIConsequences of Order Under Rule 13 andof failure to make applications19-22 Chapter VIIU pdating of the record of practicing andnon-practicing and non-practicing advocates23-24 Chapter VIIIA ppeal.)

2 Revision IXResumption of Practice27-28 Chapter XProcess Fee Fund29 Chapter XIMiscellaneous30-31 Form - A & FFor Advocates and Advocate on RecordsApplication for issuance of Certificate of Practice33-35 Form - A Column - II36 Form - A Column - III37 Form - B For Office Use Onle38 Form - C Application for resumption of Certificate ofPractice39-41 Form - D Identity Card42 Form - E For Senior Advocates43 TABLE OF CONTENTSBar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 20151 BAR Council OF INDIANOTIFICATIONNew Delhi, the 12th January, 2015 EXTRACTS OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETINGOF GENERAL Council OF BAR Council OFINDIA HELD ON 29th/30th NOVEMBER, 2014 ITEM NO. 330/2014 The Council considered the Draft Rules with regard to verification ofCertificate and Place of Practice of Advocates and to repeal the BarCouncil of India Certificate of Practice and Renewal Rules, 2014 andpassed the following resolution :-Resolution No.

3 216/2014(e)The Council resolves to modify the Resolution No. 169 of2014(Item No. 276/2014) dated 17th October, 2014. The Council furtherresolves that Draft Rules with regard to Verification of Certificateand Place of Practice submitted by the sub-Committee be and ishereby approved. These new Rules shall be named as Bar Council ofIndia Certificate and place of Practice(Verification) Rules 2015depending on the year of its publication in the Gazette of India ) andit shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Gazetteof India . The Council further resolves to repeal Bar Council of IndiaCertificate of Practice and Renewal Rules, 2014, accordingly the BarCouncil of India Certificate of Practice Renewal Rules, 2014 standrepealed.(f)Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice2 Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015 Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 20153but practically no state bar Council has observed this mandatoryprovision of the Act up till these circumstances it appears that a definite trend is visiblethat the control of Bar Associations and of other elected bodies underthe Advocates Act is slipping out of the hands of the advocates whopractice law.

4 It is also being experienced that after certificate ofenrolment is issued to an advocate, practically no communicative andcontinuing contact survives between him and the the existing state of affairs, All India Bar Examinationintroduced on the directions/observations of the Supreme Court ofIndia to improve the standard of legal profession has also failed tofully achieve its objective. Advocates enrolled with the State BarCouncils obtain Provisional Certificate of Practice (valid for 2 years)and thereafter most of them are practicing Law without caring toappear for All India Bar Examination and to pass welfare schemes for advocates have been floated in Indiaboth under State Legislations as well as under various welfare schemesframed by different State Bar Councils and by Bar Council of Indiabut benefits there-under are being enjoyed by those also who haveleft the is also an urgent need for laying down some conditions forpracticing law in different Courts so as to give due weightage andcredence to experience.

5 Before an advocate could practice law inhigher Courts, there is need that he is exposed to real court experiencein lower Courts/trial Courts. This will help in integrating the wholejudicial system from the perspective of the , in order to achieve better and effective administrativeand disciplinary control of the local Bar Associations, State BarCouncils and the Bar Council of India over the advocates entered onthe Rolls of advocates being maintained by different State Bar Councilsunder section 22 of the Advocates Act and further in order to weedout advocates who have left practice, the Bar Council of India , in theexercise of powers conferred on it by section 49(1) (ag), 49 (ah) 49(i)of the Advocates Act, 1961 and by all other enabling and residuarypowers vested in it, had brought the rules titled Bar Council of India (Verification) Rules have been framed in exercise of powers conferredon Bar Council of India by section 49(1)(ag), 49(ah) and 49(i)

6 Of theAdvocates Act, 1961 and in exercise of powers under part -V Chapter1, Rule 1(1) & 2 and Rule 2 of Bar Council of India Rules, Chapter IIIsub Rule 3, 4 and part -IX Rule 17,18(h), 20,22,24 of Bar Council ofIndia Rules.**BAR Council OF India CERTIFICATE ANDPLACE OF PRACTICE (VERIFICATION)RULES, 2015 Statement of objects and reasonsThe legal profession is an Honorable one and it has critical role toplay in protecting and promoting the Civil and Constitutional rightsof the people. An independent and fearless Bar is vital and crucial forsustaining and promoting a true and healthy democracy. The Barwhich is subject to manipulation and influence from extraneouspowers, howsoever mighty and esteemed they may be, cannot dojustice either to the Legal Profession or to the Rule of Law. Bench andBar are the two wheels of a chariot and one cannot function withoutthe other.

7 Sadly, this profession has fallen under a the Joint Meeting of the representatives of all State Bar Councilsand Bar Council of India , concerns were raised by all that trend ofAdvocates switching over to other professions/services/businesswithout any information to the State Bar Council has reached alarmingproportions. This trend is endangering the legal profession as a has also made a dent in its sanctity and standards. Names of suchadvocates continue to be included in the Roll of advocates beingmaintained by the State Bar Councils, notwithstanding the fact thatthey have left the legal profession or have since died. Though undersection 19 of the Advocates Act, the State bar Councils are under legalobligation to send a copy of the Roll of advocates prepared by it undersection 17 of the Act and subsequent alterations/additions thereto4 Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015 Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 20155 Bar Associations, Pensions etc.

8 But due to objection, now the Councilhas resolved to segregate this amount of Rs. 400/- for welfare-schemesfrom the process fee of verification. Now only is to be chargedfrom the Advocates as Process fee and rest of Rs. 400/- would beoptional not mandatory, depending upon the decision of concernedState Bar Council and the concerned Advocate. Even from this processfee of Rs. 100/-, besides the expenditure incurred for undertakingthe work of verification, the State Bar Council , Bar Associations andBar Council of India are required to spend the rest of the amount forthe improvement of infrastructures of Associations only. State BarCouncils shall be required to open and maintain a separate BankAccount for this purpose which would be audited every year. Thereport of Audit shall be sent to Bar Council of India and the BarAssociation soon after the submission of Bar Council of India has also come to know that a number offake (farzi) persons (without any Law Degree or enrolment certificate)are indulged in Legal practice and are cheating the Litigants, courtsand other stake-holders; and neither the Bar Associations nor theconcerned State Bar Councils have any control over such fake , it has come to the notice of the Council that at some places,the office-bearers of Bar Associations or some vote-seekers knowinglymake such people members and voters of their Associations with amotive to get their votes in the elections of Bar Associations or BarCouncils.

9 Similarly, many persons, after getting enrolled as Advocatesin any State Bar Council , get involve in Property-Dealings, contractor switch over to some other business, profession or job and have nomore concern with the Legal profession. Such non-practicingAdvocates are sometimes being used by some of the office-bearers/candidates for elections of Bar Associations or Bar Councils (only fortheir votes). But in fact, the Council has realized that such practice isdegrading the standard of Legal profession, and this mal-practice hasto be of the office-bearers/representatives of some of the BarAssociations had raised unnecessary objections and protests to thesereformative steps. Such protests were/are only to serve their vestedinterests. Bar Council of India has to maintain the dignity andCertificate of Practice and Renewal Rules, 2014 for the purposes ofcarrying into effect the provisions and objectives of the Act:-But in some of the places, the Advocates raised objection withregard to the word Renewal, though in fact it is not the renewal ofenrolment, rather it aimed at periodical verification of the details ofan Advocate already enrolled with some State Bar Council .

10 The aimwas/is only to verify the place where the Advocate normally practices,the Bar Association of which he is a member (if any), the address/email id, enrolment number/year, the Institutions from which theAdvocate has passed his Graduation and The purpose is themaintenance of record of all the Advocates of the country; twopassport size photographs of Advocate was/is also required to befurnished to the State Bar Council . The other object was/is also tointroduce certain electoral reforms in the Bar Council /Bar Associationelections, because in recent past, the Bar Council of India and theState Bar Councils have come across the cases of rigging in the pollsand the allegations of bogus voting has now become frequent, sincethe State Bar Councils and/or majority of Bar Associations of thecountry have no record of the Advocates who died after enrolmentor who joined other jobs, business or professions; the Bar Council ofIndia being the regular of Legal profession and Legal education ofthe country has, therefore, decided to undertake the detailedverification and then to prepare a Voters List alongwith recentphotographs of the Advocate (Voter).