1) The Advocates Act was enacted in 1961 and applies to the whole of India.

This
Act was introduced “to amend and consolidate the law relating to legal
practitioners and to provide for the constitution of the Bar Councils and an
All-India Bar.”
2) The primary aim of the Advocates Act, 1961, is to constitute a single class of
legal practitioners, ‘Advocates’ as well as to introduce the powers of the Bar
Council of India and the State Bar Council.
3) According to this Act, only Advocates, who are enrolled in the Bar Council,
have the power to practice the law in the court. Through this, it can be
demonstrated that an advocate registered under the Bar Council is free to
practice in the Supreme Court, High Court, any other judicial court,
quasi-judicial courts, or before an individual or group, legally authorized to
take documentary or oral evidence.
4) The Act also defines that an advocate who has registered in one State Council
cannot enroll in another State Council at the same time. Despite this, an
Advocate can transfer from one State Council to another.
5) It is clearly noticeable that every individual has their own rights and duties
delivered by the state whereas a right is an entitlement and a duty is an
obligation.
6) Similarly, the Advocates Act of 1961, provides certain rights (entitlement) and
duties (obligations) of an advocate. These duties and rights are to be fulfilled
by the Advocates for a better Bar-Bench relationship.
7) The Advocates Act passed in May 1961 and enforced on 16th August 1961
applies to the whole of India.
8) The Advocates Act was to amend the laws related to legal practitioners. It
provides the constitution of members for the State Bar Council and Bar
Council of India.
9) The act aims to constitute only one class of legal practitioners known as
‘Advocate’ and provides uniform qualification for admission to the Bar. The
act also vests the powers on the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Council
to take disciplinary action when required.

Characteristics of Advocates Act

1) It consolidates existing laws on the legal profession.

2) The Advocates Act 1961 established the Bar Council of India and State Bar
Council.
3) An advocate cannot enrol under more than one State Council but can transfer
from one state bar council to another
4) It abolishes the difference between a vakil and an advocate. So, all those who
practice law are now called advocates.
Sections under Advocates Act

Who is an Advocate?

Section 2 (1)(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961 provides the meaning of an advocate.

Accordingly, an advocate is a person enrolled on any roll under the provision of this

Act. Before enacting this act, there were different classes of legal practitioners,

referred to as pleaders, vakils, lawyers, attorneys.

Law Graduate

Section 2(1)(i) of the act defines a law graduate as a person who obtained a

Bachelor’s degree in law from any university established under law.

Roll and State Roll

Section 2(1)(k) of the Advocates Act defines Roll as a roll of advocates prepared and

maintained under this Act.

State Roll

Section 2(1)(n) of the act defines State Roll as a roll of advocates maintained by the

State Bar Council under Section 17.

State Bar Council

Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961 states that for every state, there shall be a Bar

Council in the manner prescribed under Section 3(1).

Number of Members of State Bar Council

According to Section 3(2)(a), the Advocate General of the concerned state is the

ex-officio member of the State Bar Council. As per Section 3(2)(b) following number

of members should be there in the bar council of state:

 1) When the number of Advocates in the state roll is less than 5000, the number

of members of the Bar Council is 15

2) When the number of Advocates in the state roll is between 5000 and 10000,

the number of members of Bar Council is 20.

3) When the number of Advocates in the state roll is more than 10000, the

number of bar council members is 25.

4) Advocate having their name in the state roll elect the members, and the

advocates can vote by a single transferable vote.

5) According to Section 3(3), there shall be a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman of

the State Bar Council, elected in the manner prescribed.

6) The term of office of the member of the State Bar Council is for five years

(Section 8). The five-year span starts from the date of publication of the result

of the elections. Functions of State Bar

Council

Section 6 of the Advocates Act, 1961 provides the function of the State Bar Council.

Functions of the council are as follows:

1) To enrol the qualified persons as an advocate.

2) To prepare the State Roll.

3) To take disciplinary action for professional misconduct by the advocate.

4) To protect the rights and privileges of advocates.

5) To constitute an executive committee, enrolment committee, or any other

committee as required.

6) To manage the funds of the Bar Council.

 7) To conduct the election for electing the members of the State Bar Council.

8) To prepare legal aid programmes.

9) To prepare schemes to help poor advocates.

10)To grant recognition to the law college.

11) To allot funds for implementing legal aid schemes and other schemes.

Bar Council Of India

Section 4 of the Advocates Act provides that there shall be a bar council for the whole

of India and is known as the Bar Council of India.

Constitution of the Bar Council of India

There shall be the following members in the Bar council of India:

1) Attorney General of India who is Ex- Officio member. (Section 4(1)(a))

2) Solicitor General of India is Ex- Officio member. (Section 4(1)(b))

3) One member gets elected amongst the member of each State Bar Council.

((Section 4(1)(c))

4) A Chairman and a Vice-chairman Section 4(2).

5) Attorney General and Solicitor general remains a member of the Bar Council

of India till they hold their post. Functions of Bar

Council Of India

Section 7 of the Advocate Act lays down the functions of the Bar Council of

India.Following are the functions performed by the Bar Council of India:

1. To frame rules related to professional ethics.

 2. To frame rules of procedure to be followed by the disciplinary committee

of the State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India.

3. To protect the rights of the Advocates.

4. To encourage legal reforms.

5. To decide matters related to professional misconduct transferred from a

disciplinary committee of state bar council.

6. To decide appeal against the disciplinary committee of state bar council.

7. To supervise functions performed by the state bar council.

8. To prescribe syllabus of law course after consulting state car council and

university.

9. To inspect university.

10. To spend funds of Bar Council of India.

11. To conduct elections

12. To allow persons who studied abroad to practice in India.

Power to make rules

Section 15 of the Advocates Act gives power to the Bar Council to make rules to carry

out its purpose. The rules are for:

1) The election of members of bar council done by secret ballot includes

conditions subject to which a person can exercise the right to vote by postal

ballot.

2) The election manner of a member of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the

Bar Council

3) To decide the doubts and disputes related to the election of the Bar Council

members and appointment of Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

 4) To fill casual vacancies in Bar Council.

5) The constitution of funds by the bar council

6) Organising legal aid and advice to the poor.

7) To summon and hold a meeting of the Bar council.

8) To provide constitution and functions of the Bar Council, including the term

of office of members of the committee. Disqualification of a

member of Bar Council

Section 10B of the act states conditions related to disqualification of the Bar Council

of India members.

An elected member of the Bar Council should vacate his office if he is declared absent

without sufficient excuse for three consecutive meetings by the Bar council of state

he is a member. The member can also be disqualified from being a member of the

council if his name is removed from the roll of advocates or upon disqualification by

any rule made by the Bar Council of India.

Disqualification of Enrolment

Section 24 A provides criteria for disqualification of a person for enrolment. A person

gets disqualified from being enrolled as an advocate due to the following reasons:

1) The person on conviction for an offence that involves moral turpitude

2) The person on conviction for an offence committed under the Untouchability

(Offences) Act, 1955.

3) For removal from government service on a charge that involves moral

turpitude.
 4) Such disqualification cease to have effect after two years has passed since his

dismissal or release.

Status of Bar Council

Section 5 of the Advocates Act provides the Bar Council with body corporate. It

provides the following features of the Bar Council:

1)Body corporate

2)Perpetual succession

3) Common seal

Bar Council can have the power to acquire or hold property both movable and

immovable. The Bar Council can acquire and hold a property. It can also enter into a

contract on its name and sue and get sued in its name.

The staff of Bar Council

Section 11 of the Advocates Act, 1961 states that every bar council should appoint a

secretary and an accountant. Any other staff member can be appointed as required,

and the Secretary and accountant should possess skills as prescribed.

Membership in International Bodies

Section 7A of the Advocates Act provides that the Bar Council of India can become a

member of the international legal bodies. The Bar Council can contribute an amount

to such bodies by way of subscription and authorise expenditure if a representative

participates in an international conference or seminar.

Senior Advocate
 1) Section 16 of the Advocates Act classifies advocates into two types, senior

advocates and other advocates.

2) The Supreme Court or the High Court can designate an advocate as a senior

advocate with his consent. For being eligible to be a senior advocate, an

advocate must be in the court’s opinion to possess the ability, standing at the

Bar or special knowledge, experience in law. So, being a senior advocate is

considered a privilege.

3) It is a saying that great power comes with great responsibility. The same goes

for the designation of a senior advocate. They are responsible for acting as a

role model for junior members in the profession. They are subject to certain

restrictions imposed by the Bar Council of India. When an advocate gets

designated as a senior advocate, he should communicate it to the High Court

and the secretary of the State Bar Council and Bar Council of India.

Advocates Roll

1) Section 17 of the Advocates Act provides that every State Bar Council shall

prepare and maintain the roll of advocates.

2) The roll gets prepared in two parts, and the first part contains the list of senior

advocates and the second part contains the list of other advocates. When more

than one advocate gets enrolled in a single day, their names in the state roll is

added according to the seniority.

3) In the Advocates roll following details are mentioned:

1) Name

2) Date of Birth
 3) Permanent address

4) Education details

5) Place of interest to practice. A person

cannot get enrolled in more than one Bar Council. But, he can transfer his

name from one state to another state roll-on genuine grounds.

Certificate of Enrolment

1) Section 22 of the Advocates Act, 1961 provides the provision for the Certificate

of Enrolment. According to this section, a certificate should get issued for the

enrolment of an advocate.

2) The certificate is issued in the prescribed form provided by the State Bar

Council. Any change made in the place of permanent address of the person is

to get notified to the concerned State Bar Council within ninety days.

Qualification to be enrolled in State Roll

Section 24 of the Advocates Act provides qualifications required for a person to get

enrolled as an advocate. The qualification prescribed for the enrolment in the state

roll are as follows:

1) The person must be a citizen of India. Even a national of any other country

can be admitted as an advocate on a State Roll if he belongs citizens of India

who duly qualifies the requirement for qualification are permitted to practice

law in that country.

2) The person should have completed 21 years of age.

 3) The person should have passed 5 years integrated course after the 12th

standard or a 3-year regular law course after graduation. If the degree is from

any Foreign University then, the degree must be recognised by the Bar Council

of India.

4) Enrolment fee must be paid by the advocate as prescribed by the State Bar

Council.

5) Fulfils any other condition as required.

Various committee

Constitution of Special Committee when there was no election

1) Constitution of Special Committee

Section 8A of the Act provides the Constitution of Special Committee in the absence

of an election. A special committee gets formed when a State Bar Council fails to

conduct the election of its member. The special committee consists of:

1) Ex-officio member of the State Bar Council will be the Chairman. In case of

more than one member being an ex-officio member, then the senior-most

member should be Chairman.

2) Two members to get nominated by Bar Council of India from advocates on the

electoral roll of the State Bar Council.

2) Disciplinary Committee

Section 9 of the act provides that the Bar Council should constitute one or more

disciplinary committees. The disciplinary committee consists of 3 members elected

by the bar council, and the senior-most member is the chairman of the committee.
 3) Legal Aid Committee

Section 9A of the Advocates Act provides the constitution of the Legal Aid

Committee. The bar council can constitute one or more legal aid committees, and the

legal aid committee has a minimum of five and a maximum of nine members.

4) Committee other than disciplinary committee

Section 10 grants power to the State Bar Council and Bar Council of India.

State Bar Council should constitute the following committee:

1) An executive committee consists of five-member elected by the council among its

member. An enrolment committee consists of three members elected by the Council

from the member.

Bar Council of India should constitute the following standing committee:

1) An executive committee comprises nine members elected by the Council among its

members.

A legal education committee consists of ten members. Among these ten members,

five members get constituted by the council among themselves, and the remaining

five-member should get co-opted by the council who are not members.

State bar council and the bar council of India can constitute other committees among

its members as it deems necessary. According to Section 13, no action done by the

Bar Council or any other committee can get questioned due to any vacancy or a

defect of the constitution of the committee.

Rights of Advocate

Right to Pre-Audience: Section 23 of the Advocates Act, 1961 provides the privilege of

reight to pre-audience to the advocate. The right of pre-audience is a right of being

heard before another. This right is available in the given hierarchy:

1) Attorney General

2) Solicitor General

3) Additional Solicitor General

4) Second Additional Solicitor General or Advocate General of India

5) Advocate General of State

6) Senior Advocate

7) Other Advocate

● In the hierarchy mentioned above, starting from the Attorney General of

India to have the right of pre-audience and at last, the right is available to

other advocates. According to this section, the advocate has the right to

represent the case in court, and he can speak when he wants before an

audience is present in the court and cannot be stopped from speaking

unless he violates the decency of the court.

● Right to enter in court: Section 30 of the Advocates Act, 1961 provide the

right to practice in any court to an advocate. An advocate can enter any

court concerning any matter and has the right to enter the Supreme Court

of India. He can also be present in any of the hearings whether or not he

is related to the matter.

 ● Right to practice any profession: This right gets provided under Article 19

of the Constitution of India. According to this right, advocates can

practice their profession in two categories; General protection and

Specific Protection. General Protection provides the right to practice any

profession or maintain any occupation. And Specific Protection concerns

the right to practice as an advocate under section 30 of the Advocates Act.

● Right against arrest: The Right against arrest get provided under Section

135 of the Code of Civil Procedure. This section provides that an advocate

cannot get arrested under any circumstance. Accordingly, the advocate

cannot get arrested under civil process if he is going to visit or is presiding

or is returning from the court.

● Right to meet the accused: For the proper understanding of the case, the

advocate has the right to meet the accused whenever he wishes to do. He

can even meet the accused in jail.

Punishment for misconduct

Section 35 of the Advocates Act provides punishment for an advocate for misconduct.

This section provides that when a complaint is received, or State Bar Council has the

reason to believe that an advocate on a roll is guilty of professional misconduct, the

matter gets referred to the Disciplinary Committee for disposal. The disciplinary

committee then decided the date of the hearing. The notice gets served to the

concerned advocate and the Advocate – General of the State.

Rights of Advocates
In India, Advocates possess various rights which are protected and provided under
the Advocates Act, some of them are listed as follows:
● Advocate’s Right to Practice: It is an exclusive right given to the advocates
enrolled in the Bar Council of India that allow them to practice in any court all
 over India. As per Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution, all citizens have
the right “to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business;” therefore, an advocate has full right to practice in any court.
● Advocate’s Right to Enter Any Court and Observe the proceedings:
It is the right of an Advocate to enter into any courtroom either of the
Supreme Court, High Court, or any other Court to observe any live
proceedings under Section 30 of the Advocates Act, 1961.
● Advocate’s Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression: As Article
19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution enables every citizen the right to freedom of
speech and expression, Advocates also have this right even in a court of law.
While arguing in litigation, an Advocate cannot be stopped or prohibited from
presenting his point of view until or unless he/she violates the rules and
regulations of the court of law.
● Advocate’s Right to Meet with Accused: It is the right of an advocate to
meet with the accused even if he/she is in jail. These meetings help the
advocate to gain sufficient information related to the facts and evidence that
further help him for fighting the case in Court. Despite the fact that time for
the meeting is limited, Advocates have the right to meet the client every day in
jail.
● Advocate’s Right to Take the Fee: Every advocate has the right to take a
fee from a client if they give any service to them. It is clearly mentioned in
Rule 11 of Chapter 2 of Part VI of the Bar Council of India that an advocate has
the ability to take fees from his client.
● Advocate’s Right Against Arrest: As per Section 135 of C.P.C. (Civil
Procedure Code), “No Judge, Magistrate or other judicial officers [Advocate]
shall be liable to arrest under civil process while going to, presiding in, or
returning from, his Court.”
● Advocate’s Right to Refuse for a Case: This right allows the advocates to
refuse to take a case that they feel deals with illegal things.
● Advocate’s Right to Secure the Privacy of Communication: This right
of the Advocate is provided under Section 129 of the Indian Evidence Act of
1872 which states that an advocate has the right to protect or secure the
privacy of the communication with his client. Along with this, this Section also
illustrates that no one can threaten an advocate to disclose the information
collected via tête-à-tête. In short, it can be demonstrated that the advocate
himself is not liable to share information with anybody regarding the
conversation between him and his client as well as no third person can
threaten him to disclose the same.

Duties of Advocates against the Court

● It is the duty of an Advocate to refuse to perform any kind of illegal work to
win the case while representing the client in the Courtroom.
● It is the duty of an Advocate to not act in a way that breaks the rules and
regulations of the Court and disrespects the court as well as the judges in the
courtroom for hearing the case.
● It is the duty of an Advocate to appear in the Court well-dressed as per the
dress code defined by the Bar Council of India while representing the case.
● It is the duty of an Advocate to wear Gowns or Bands only in the court and not
in public places except while attending the ceremonial function by the BCI.
● It is the duty of an Advocate to refuse to fight a case where the judge is in any
kind of relation (either blood or any other) with the advocate.
● It is the duty of an Advocate not to perform any unethical practice such as
communicating with the judge regarding the Case pending before the Court.