1- which Act / Rule govern the Adv. behaviour?

2- Discuss whether following statement prohibited for advocate, with relevant provisions.
- personally engage in business
- MD of company
- full time salaried employee of any company
- politics
- participating in the management of a business which he has inherited
3- Discuss with relevant provisions
- An advocate may never refuse to accept any brief.
- An advocate should not accept or appear in a court in which he has a reason to believe that
he is a witness.
4- Types of advocate before and after the advocate act.
5- Constitution of Bar Council and it's power.
6- Explain in brief about DC of BC and its power.
7- BC a body corporate.
8- Types of Adv. under adv act. Define adv with the latest rulling of Indira Jaisingh case
9- Discuss provision of appeal and limitations described under adv act and compare it with
relevant provisions of crpc and coc
10- Review under adv act and compare with crpc and cpc.
11- Explain the contempt of court as defined under section 2 of coc act.
12- The competent court for taking cognizance and proceed on it under coc act.
13- How civil and criminal contempt of court differs from each other?
14- Define civil contempt and discuss the power of a court to contempt.
15- Define criminal contempt and how it differ from civil contempt.

answer
PROFESSION OF LAW IS NOT TRADE, IT IS A PUBLIC FUNCTION: Advocacy is a
calling to some higher satisfaction than a commercial gain. It requires a higher degree of
autonomy that lawyers experience from external controls other than those imposed by self-
regulation.
Advocates to be the only recognized class of persons entitled to practice law in India and
every advocate whose name is entered in the State roll shall be entitled as of right to practice
throughout the territories to which this Advocates Act extends. In Supreme Court only an
Advocate-on-Record is entitled to file an appearance or act for a party in the Court, no
advocate other than an Advocate-on-Record can appear and plead in any matter unless he is
instructed by an Advocate on- Record.

No person having an Advocate-on-Record shall be heard in person except by Special Leave

of the Court. The Chief Justice and the Judges may, with the consent of an advocate,
designate him as Senior Advocate, if in their opinion, by virtue of his ability, standing at the
Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, he deserves such a distinction. A Senior
Advocate cannot file Vakalatnama or act in any Court or Tribunal in India. He cannot appear,
without an Advocate-on-Record, in the Supreme Court, and without a junior in any other
Court or Tribunal in India. He cannot accept any brief or instructions directly from the client,
to appear in any Court or Tribunal in India. He cannot accept instructions to draw pleadings
or affidavits. He cannot advise on evidence or do any drafting work, though he is entitled to
settle any matter in consultation with a junior( ch 2 practice & procedure of Supreme Court)
“Advocate” means an advocate entered in any roll( state bar council after completion of LLB
and citizen of India completed the age of 21 years with clean morality u/s 24A ) under the
provisions of Advocates Act 1961. There shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior
advocates and other advocates. (2) An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as a
senior advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his
ability 1 [standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law] he is deserving of
such distinction. (3) Senior advocates shall, in the matter of their practice, be subject to such
restrictions as the Bar Council of India may, in the interest of the legal profession,
prescribe( S 16 OF THE ADVOCATES ACT). State Bar Councils to maintain roll of
advocates(S 17).The Attorney-General of India shall have pre-audience over all other
advocates(S 23).
Legal Practice in India is governed by the Advocates Act 1961 and Bar Council of India
being a creature of the Advocates Act, acts as Statutory regulator responsible for the issuance
of Licence, regulation of Practice and disciplinary proceeding against an Advocate amongst
others.
Bar Council of India has been empowered under section 49 of the Advocates Act to make
rules. In exercise of those powers Bar Council of India made rules which were published in
the official gazette on 6 September 1975.
Law Commission of India by its 226 Report recommended certain changes in the present
Advocates Act. Supreme Court by  Mahipal Singh Rana vs. State of Uttar Prades [AIR
2016 SC 3302] recommended for overhaul of Advocates Act so that public can have some
faith restored that bar council or a new regulatory body can do the job of punishing violations
of standards of conduct by advocates.
“advocate” means an advocate entered in any roll under the provisions of this Act and
includes an advocate carrying on practice in law with a law firm, by whatever name called,
and a foreign lawyer registered under any law in a country outside India and recognised by
the Bar Council of India.
2) Rules 47 to 52 of Section VII of theBar Council of India rules deals with restrictions on
other employments. This restriction is considered as a general etiquette on the part of
lawyers as the profession of law is a noble profession and requires full time dedication.
Rule 47 provides that an advocate shall not personally engage in any business; but he may
be a sleeping partner in a firm doing business provided that in the opinion of the appropriate
State Bar Council, the nature of the business is not inconsistent with the dignity of the
profession. Rule 48 makes it very clear that an advocate may be Director or Chairman of the
Board of Directors of a / with or without any ordinarily sitting fee, provided none of his
duties are of an executive character. An advocate shall not be a Managing Director or a
Secretary of any company. If the functions of the advocate as a member of the Board of
Directors is in case executive in nature, then that action would be against rule 48. An
advocate cannot run any business personally and earn a profit. Rule 47 strictly prohibits
that.

Under Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules, an advocate shall not be a full-time
employee of any person, Government, firm, corporation or concern and on taking up such
employment, shall intimate such fact to the Bar Council concerned and shall cease to
practise as long as he is in such employment. However, there was an exception made in such
cases of law officers of the Government and corporate bodies despite his being a full- time
salaried employee if such law officer was required to act or plead in court on behalf of
others. It was only to those who fall into other categories of employment that the bar under
Rule 49 would apply[1]. An advocate employed by the Government or a body corporate as
its law officer even on terms of payment of salary would not cease to be an advocate in terms
of Rule 49 if the condition is that such advocate is required to act or plead in courts on
behalf of the employer. But this exception were deleted in June, 2001 meeting vide Resolution
No.65/2001[2].
The test, therefore, is not whether such person is engaged on terms of salary or by payment
of remuneration, but whether he is engaged to act or plead on its behalf in a court of law as
an advocate. In that event the terms of engagement will not matter at all. What is of essence
is as to what such law officer engaged by the Government does - whether he acts or pleads in
court on behalf of his employer or otherwise. If he is not acting or pleading on behalf of his
employer, then he ceases to be an advocate. If the terms of engagement are such that he does
not have to act or plead, but does other kinds of work, then he becomes a mere employee of
the Government or the body corporate. Therefore, the Bar Council of India has understood
the expression "advocate" as one who is actually practicing before courts which expression
would include even those who are law officers appointed as such by the Government or body
corporate.

In a case[3] a person was enrolled as an advocate despite being a full time salaried
employee as Law officer. The State Bar Council (Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh) had not
made any Rule entitling full time salaried Law officers for practising as an advocate. The
work of the person so enrolled was not mainly or exclusively to act or plead in Court as ‘Law
officer’. He was not entitled to be enrolled as an advocate. His name may be removed from
the roll of State bar council. Such removal was not taken as punishment but rectification of
mistake. Thus the cancellation or withdrawal of enrolment was not taken as a punishment
and therefore, in such condition the procedure to be followed in case of punishment for
professional misconduct was not required to be observed.
If in the rules of any State Bar Council, a provision is made entitling Law officers of the
Central government or a State or any Public Corporation or body constituted by a statute,
the bar contained in Rule 49 shall not apply to such officers despite them being full time
salaried employees. The court has observed further that not every Law officer, but only a
person who is designated as a Law Officer by terms of his appointment and who, by the said
terms is required to act and/or plead in courts on behalf of his employer can avail the benefit
of the exception contained in Rule 49.

Rule 50 provides that an advocate who has inherited, or succeeded by survivorship to a

family business may continue it, but may not personally participate in the management
thereof. He may continue to hold a share with others in any business which has descended to
him by survivorship or inheritance or by will, provided he does not personally participate in
the management thereof. As the purpose of these restrictions is to preserve the dignity and
nobility of the legal profession, holding of share with others in any business which he
inherited is not prohibited provided he is not participating in the management of the business
there by compromising on the dedication and attention to the profession.
Rule 52 states that nothing in these rules shall prevent an advocate from accepting after
obtaining the consent of the State Bar Council, part-time employment provided that in the
opinion of the State Bar Council, the nature of the employment does not conflict with his
professional work and is not inconsistent with the dignity of the profession. This rule shall be
subject to such directives if any as may be issued by the Bar Council India from time to time.
Teaching of law for not more than three hours a day is considered as a part-time
employment.
Politics:The Supreme dismissed a plea to ban lawmakers from practising as advocates, saying the
Bar Council of India rules do not prohibit them.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud
had on July 9 reserved the order on the PIL filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini
Upadhyay, seeking to bar lawyer-lawmakers (MPs, MLAs, MLCs) from practising in courts
during their tenure in Parliament.
The bench had earlier taken note of the Centre's submission that an MP or an MLA is an
elected representative and not a full-time employee of the government, hence the plea was
not maintainable.
However, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Upadhyay, had told the court
that a lawmaker draws a salary from the public exchequer and a salaried employee is
debarred by the Bar Council of India from practising in the courts of law.
To this, the bench had replied that employment postulates a master-servant relationship and
the government of India is not the master of a Member of Parliament.
The apex court was hearing the petition which said that while a public servant cannot
practice as an advocate, legislators are practising in various courts which was a violation of
Article 14 of the Constitution.
The plea said the issue is a matter of concern to both the judiciary and the legislature as
most of the lawmaker-advocates are involved in active practice of law, despite receiving
salaries and other perquisites drawn on the public exchequer.
The petition also pointed out that the MPs have the power of voting on the impeachment of
judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts.

3) a:
"Every person, however wicked, depraved, vile, degenerate, perverted, loathsome, execrable, vicious
or repulsive he may be regarded by society, has a right to be defended in a court of law and
correspondingly it is the duty of the lawyer to defend him," a Bench led by Justice Markandeya Katju
said.in the case of  A.S. Mohammed Rafi Vs. State of Tamil Nadu Rep. By Home Dept. .

The SC declared "null and void" any resolutions so far passed by bar associations across
India which ban a lawyer from being an "attorney for the damned". "We declare all such
resolutions... null and void and right minded lawyers should ignore and defy such resolutions
if they want democracy and rule of law to be upheld in this country," the apex court declared.
As long as the client is willing to pay the fee and the lawyer is not otherwise engaged, no
practising legal practitioner can afford to shirk defending a person "who is alleged to be a
terrorist or an accused of a brutal or heinous crime or a rapist" on the ground that it will
make him (the lawyer) unpopular or that it is personally dangerous, the court said.
Justice Katju, who wrote the judgment, ordered its circulation to all high courts and state
bar councils. The verdict came in a petition regarding a resolution passed by the Coimbatore
Bar Association that no member would defend policemen accused of violence against
lawyers, in a clash between lawyers and police in 2007.
Justice Katju referred to lawyers from both fact and fiction to enunciate. his point. He talked
of the original "Attorney for the Damned", the legendary American lawyer Clarence Darrow
who only took the briefs of "repulsive and loathsome persons"; and cited the strength of
Indian lawyers who defended "revolutionaries in Bengal during British rule", "Indian
Communists in the Meerut conspiracy case", and "the alleged assassins of Mahatma Gandhi
and Indira Gandhi".
In our own country, Article 22(1) of the Constitution states : 
"No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as
may be, of the grounds for which arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be
defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice". 
Chapter II of the Rules framed by the Bar Council of India states about `Standards of
Professional Conduct and Etiquette', as follows : 
"An advocate is bound to accept any brief in the Courts or Tribunals or before any other
authorities in or before which he proposes to practice at a fee consistent with his standing at
the Bar and the nature of the case. Special circumstances may justify his refusal to accept a
particular brief". 
Professional ethics requires that a lawyer cannot refuse a brief, provided a client is willing
to pay his fee, and the lawyer is not otherwise engaged. Hence, the action of any Bar
Association in passing such a resolution that none of its members will appear for a
particular accused, whether on the ground that he is a policeman or on the ground that he is
a suspected terrorist, rapist, mass murderer, etc. is against all norms of the Constitution, the
Statute and professional ethics. It is against the great traditions of the Bar which has always
stood up for defending persons accused for a crime. Such a resolution is, in fact, a disgrace
to the legal community. We declare that all such resolutions of Bar Associations in India are
null and void and the right minded lawyers should ignore and defy such resolutions if they
want democracy and rule of law to be upheld in this country. It is the duty of a lawyer to
defend no matter what the consequences, and a lawyer who refuses to do so is not following
the message of the Gita. 
b)
The Supreme Court in Kokkanda B. Poondacha and Ors. v. K.D. Ganapathy and Anr.  has
examined an interesting legal proposition, whether one of the parties in a suit could cite the
advocate representing the other side as a witness in the list filed under Order XVI Rule 1(1)
and (2) read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) or not?
In  Mange Ram vs. Brij Mohan (supra), this Court interpreted Order XVI Rule 1 (1),(2) and
(3) CPC and observed: 
"If the requirements of these provisions are conjointly read and properly analysed, it clearly
transpires that the obligation to supply the list as well as the gist of the evidence of each
witness whose name is entered in the list has to be carried out in respect of those witnesses
for procuring whose attendance the party needs the assistance of the court." 
the nature of relationship between a lawyer and his client, which is solely founded on trust
and confidence. A lawyer cannot pass on the confidential information to anyone else. This is
so because he is a fiduciary of his client, who reposes trust and confidence in the lawyer.
Therefore, he has a duty to fulfill all his obligations towards his client with care and act in
good faith. Since the client entrusts the whole obligation of handling legal proceedings to an
advocate, he has to act according to the principles of uberrima fides, i.e., the utmost good
faith, integrity, fairness and loyalty. The duties of an advocate to the Court, the client,
opponent and colleagues are enumerated in Chapter II of Part IV of the Bar Council of
India Rules, 1975  (for short, "the Rules"). Rules 12, 13, 14 and 15 of Section II, Chapter II
of Part IV of the Rules, which regulate the duty of an advocate to the client, read as under: 
An advocate shall not ordinarily withdraw from engagements, once accepted, without
sufficient cause and unless reasonable and sufficient notice is given to the client. Upon his
withdrawal from a case, he shall refund such part of the fee as has not been earned. 
An advocate should not accept a brief or appear in a case in which he has reason to believe
that he will be a witness, and if being engaged in a case, it becomes apparent that he is a
witness on a material question of fact, he should not continue to appear as an advocate if
he can retire without jeopardising his client's interests. 
An advocate shall, at the commencement of his engagement and during the continuance
thereof, make all such full and frank disclosures to his client relating to his connection with
the parties and any interest in or about the controversy as are likely to affect his client's
judgment in either engaging him or continuing the engagement.  It shall be the duty of an
advocate fearlessly to uphold the interests of his client by all fair and honourable means
without regard to any unpleasant consequences to himself or any other. He shall defend a
person accused of a crime regardless of his personal opinion as to the guilt of the accused,
bearing in mind that his loyalty is to the law which requires that no man should be convicted
without adequate evidence."
An analysis of the above reproduced Rules show that one of the most important duty imposed
upon an advocate is to uphold the interest of the client fearlessly by all fair and honourable
means. An advocate cannot ordinarily withdraw from engagement without sufficient cause
and without giving reasonable and sufficient notice to the client. If he has reason to believe
that he will be a witness in the case, the advocate should not accept a brief or appear in the
case. In V. C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan (1979) 1 SCC 308, A.P.Sen, J. outlined the
importance of the relationship of an advocate with his client in the following words: 
"Nothing should be done by any member of the legal fraternity which might tend to lessen in
any degree the confidence of the public in the fidelity, honesty and integrity of the profession.
Lord Brougham, then aged eighty-six, said in a speech, in 1864, that first great quality of an
advocate was 'to reckon everything subordinate to the interests of his client'. What he said in
1864 about 'the paramountcy of the client's interest', is equally true today. The relation
between a lawyer and his client is highly fiduciary in its nature and of a very delicate,
exacting, and confidential character requiring a high degree of fidelity and good faith. It is
purely a personal relationship, involving the highest personal trust and confidence which
cannot be delegated without consent. A lawyer when entrusted with a brief, is expected to
follow the norms of professional ethics and try to protect the interests of his clients, in
relation to whom he occupies a position of trust. The appellant completely betrayed the trust
reposed in him by the complainants." 
4)
Advocate & Vakil  Every person entered as and advocate or Vakil on the toll of any High
Court under Letters Patent Act. They are also entitled to practice in any court subordinate to
the said High Court
Qualification  B.A.,B.L. (or as fixed by high court time to time)
Pleader  Every pleader on enrollment may practice in courts and revenue offices and
after obtaining a certificate U/S 7 of the act
Qualification  I.A.,P.L. ( P.L. Practice in law = As fixed by H.C.)
Mukhatar  Every Mukhtar holding a certificate issued U/S 7 of the act may apply to
enrolled in any civil court or criminal court situated with the limit of the said high court
subject to such rule framed by the High Court time to time.
Qualification  Matric ( as fixed by High Court)
Revenue Agent  The chief controlling Revenue Authority make rules for revenue agent.
(some time called as Sokhtar = as fixed by HC)
Practicing was mostly controlled & guided directly by the High Court.
After commencement of Advocate's Act, 1961 S.16(1)  Only two classes of advocates,
Senior advocates & Advocates.
S.16(2)  Senior Advocate  An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as senior
advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his ability
"within the prescribed time“ standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law
he is deserving of such distinction.

S.16(3)  Senior advocates shall, in the matter of their practice, be subject to such
restrictions as the Bar Council of India may, in the interests of the legal profession,
prescribe.

S.16(4) An advocate of the Supreme Court who was a senior advocate of that Court
immediately before the appointed day shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be
a senior advocate

5) State Bar Council

Constitution : S.3 of the Advocates Act empowers for the creation of State bar councils for
every state. Number of members of the Bar Council varies from state to state, depending
upon the number of Advocates on the State roll.
1. If the number of Advocates in the state roll is less then 5000 then the number of Bar
Council members are 15.
2. If the number of Advocates are 5000 to 10000 then the number of Bar Council members
are 20.
3. If the number of Advocates are more then 10000 then the number of bar Council members
are 25.
Members are elected by the Advocates whose names are there in the state roll by a single
transferrable vote. The members hold office for a period of 5 years. The Advocate General of
the Concerned State is an ex-officio member of the State Bar Council. So long as he is
holding the office as Advocate General he can act as the member of the Bar Council.
Powers: The State Bar Council is empowered with the following powers.
1. It is body corporate.
2. It is a legal body having the autonomous status.
3. It has a common seal and perpetual succession.
4. It can do the following things in its own name. Buying and selling properties, Entering into
agreements, Filing cases.
5. It can constitute executive committee etc.
6. It can frame rules and regulations relating to day to day administration.
Bar Council of India
. Bar Council of India
Constitution: The following persons are the members of the Bar Council of India.
1. One member from each State Bar Councils. He will be elected by the members of the
respective State Bar Councils.
2. Attorney General of India-Ex Officio member.
3. Solicitor General of India-Ex officio member. Ex-officio members will continue as
members so long as they hold the offices of Attorney General and Solicitor General posts.
The other members will continue as members so long they are continuing as members of the
State Bar Council.
Powers:
Bar Council of India is empowered with the following powers.
1. It is a body corporate.
2. It is legal persons having the autonomus status.
3. It has a common seal and perpetual succession.
4. It can do the following things in its own name. Buying and selling properties, Entering
into agreements, Filing cases etc.
5. Transfer the name of the Advocate from one state roll to another state roll on his
application. 6. It can constitute executive committee, disciplinary committee, legal aid
committee etc.
7. To hear and decide appeal, review and revision against the orders of the disciplinary
committee of the State Bar Council. 8. Frame rules relating to day to day administration

6) Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Council

Organaisation:
S.9 of the Advocates Act empowers the state Bar Councils to constitute one or more
Disciplinary Committees. Each Disciplinary Committee shall consists of 3 members. Two
shall be selected from the members of the Bar Council and one shall be selected from the
Advocates who are having more than 10 years of standing in profession. Among the three
members the senior most in the profession shall act as the chairman of the committee.
Powers :
S.42 of the Advocates Act deals with the power of Disciplinary committee. It provides that the
Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Council shall have the same powers same like the
civil court under the C.P.C. in respect of the following matters.
1. Summoning and enforcing the attendence of any person and examining him on oath.
2. Requiring discovery and production of any documents.
3. Receiving evidence on affidavit.
4. Requiring any public record or copies of any record from any court or office.
5. Issuing commissions for the examinations of witness or documents. The disciplinary
committee has no right to require the attendance of the following presons. (i) Any presiding
officer of the court. (ii) Any officer of the revenue court.
A presiding officer of a court shall be summoned to attend the proceedings of the
Disciplinary Committee with permission of the High Court and an officer of the revenue
court shall be summoned with the permission of the State Govt. All the proceedings before
the Disciplinary Committee of a Bar Council shall be deemed to a judicial proceedings
within the meaning of S.193 & 228 of I.P.C and every such disciplinary Committee shall be
deemed to be a civil court.
Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India
Organisation:
Same as the Disciplinary committee of the State Bar Council
Powers:
The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council Of India shall having the following powers.
1. It shall enquire the charges of the professional misconduct against Advocates whose name
is there in the roll of any of the State Bar Council.
2. Enquire the complaints in which the Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Council has
not completed the enquiry within one year from the date of receipt of the complaint.
3. Hear the appeal against the order of the State Bar Council.
4. Allowing the State Bar Council to review its own order. Just like the Disciplinary
Committee of the State Bar Council, the Bar Council of India Disciplinary committee is also
having powers like a civil court.

7)
BC as body corporate:
S.5 of Advocate’s act, 1961
Every Bar Council is a body corporate
It has character of perpetual succession and a common seal,
It has power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable,
It has power to contract, and
It may by the name by which it is known sue and be sued.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ors. v. Raju Bhai Soma Bhai Bhardwaj and Orsthe Apex
Court via Bench of Justice Dipak Mishra and Justice UU Lalit, while deliberating over the definition of
“Corporation” referred to Halsbury (Laws of England 4 th  Edn.), quoted as under.
“A corporation may be defined as a body of persons (in the case of a corporation aggregate)
or an office (in the case of a corporation sole) which is recognized by the law as having a
personality which is distinct from the separate personalities of the members of the body or
the personality of the individual holder for the time being of the office in question.
In a Landmark Judgement of Radhelal Gupta v. State Bar Council of M.P. and Ors. The
High Court Of Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur Bench) held that “There is an enormous
distinction between a body corporate and its members and, therefore, any attempt to mingle
the two in one compartment conceiving them as inseggregable and inseparable is to whittle
down the basic normative feature of law.” It further observed that “body corporate has a
different connotation and meaning in law. The body corporate is not merely a body of
persons. Section 5 of the Act stipulates that a Bar Council is a body corporate and hence, the
statute confers on it a distinctive legal status.” The court went on to reiterate that “It can be
unhesitatingly stated that an individual member who is a part of the body corporate stands
distinctively qua the body corporate for the simple reason, a corporation is a legal person
just as much as an individual. The members who constitute the Council which is a body
corporate lose their individual entity and a whole comes into being which is called the Bar
Council. By no stretch of the imagination, it can be said that the members, 'Prana' of the Bar
Council as the body corporate have a separate legal status and the perceptual shift.”
in the case of Ishwar Shandilya v. State of Uttarakhand and Ors., The High Court of
Uttarakhand at Nainital after observing that “The State Bar Council is a body corporate
having perpetual succession. Its existence is independent of, and is not contingent upon,
elected members holding office” held that “Bar was not a private guild but a public
institution committed to public justice.” The Hon’ble Court quoted  Halsbury’s Laws of
England while denunciating the meaning of Corporation.
Further while dealing with the plight of advocated during the ongoing pandemic, the
Allahabad High Court in Assistance to the Needy Advocates & Registered Advocate Clerks
v. State of U.P. again emphasized on the status of the Bar Council of India as well as Bar
Councils of the state as a body corporate and the characteristics invariably attached
therewith as prescribed under Section 5 of Act of 1961\ 
Hence, the Bar Council of India as well as Bar Councils of the state as constituted under the
Advocate Act, 1961 are statutory bodies performing regulatory functions and are conferred
with the status of “Body Corporate”. Section 5 of the Advocates Act, 1961[26] invariably
provides for every Bar Council to be a “Body Corporate” having a common seal and
perpetual succession also conferred with power to hold, acquire or dispose of both movable
and immovable property. Rendering, a statutory body as that of the bar council of India, with
the status of a ‘body corporate’ ensues several Legal consequences. The preceding sections
of this article have dealt with such legal consequences at length. Having considered such
consequences and the Judicial approach, the purpose of lawmakers to confer Bar Councils
with the status or “Corporation” becomes clear. In conclusion, it can be said that the main
aim and objective of the legislation behind conferring such status was to strengthen Bar
Councils established under the Act and to provide them with greater autonomy along with
making their day to day functioning more efficient and effective. Upon a detailed analysis of
the purpose of enactment of Section 5 and the Judicial Approach towards it, makes it
unambiguous that it has to a large extent achieved the aim for which it was added to the
statute book.

8)
S.16(1)  Only two classes of advocates,
Senior advocates & Advocates.
S.16(2)  Senior Advocate  An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as senior
advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his ability
"within the prescribed time“ standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law
he is deserving of such distinction.

S.16(3)  Senior advocates shall, in the matter of their practice, be subject to such
restrictions as the Bar Council of India may, in the interests of the legal profession, prescribe

S.16(4) An advocate of the Supreme Court who was a senior advocate of that Court
immediately before the appointed day shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be
a senior advocate

S.16 of the Advocates Act classifies the Advocates into two types namely, Senior Advocates
and other Advocates. The Supreme Court or a High Court shall designate an Advocate with
his consent, as Senior Advocate, if the court is of the opinion that by virtue of his ability,
standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in the law, he deserves such
distinction. It is a honour and privilege conferred on an Advocate. By virtue of the pre-
eminence which a senior Advocate enjoys in the profession, they carry the greatest
responsibilities and they should act as a model to the junior members of the profession. A
senior Advocatemore or less occupies a position like a Queen‟s counsel in England next
after the Attorney General, the Solicitor General and the State Advocate General. Order-Iv
Rule-2regarding the 1966 deals with the rules regarding the designating an Advocate as an
Senior Advocate in thee Supreme Court and their conditions of practice. Each High court
has framed their own rules of procedures for designating an Advocate as Senior Advocate.
The Bar Council of India has prescribed the following restrictions in the matter of practice
of a Senior Advocate.
1. A senior Advocate shall not file a vakalatanama or a memo of appearance or pleading or
application in any court or tribunal or before any person or authority mentioned in S.30 of
the Act.
2. A Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court shall not appear without an Advocate on record
in the Supreme Court.
3. A Senior Advocate in the High Court shall not appear Without an Advocate of the state
roll. 4. He shall not accept instructions to draft pleading or affidavits, or to do any drafting
work of an analogous nature.
5. He shall not undertake conveyancing work of any kind what so ever.
 6. He shall not directly accept a case from a client or instructions from his client to appear
in any court or tribunal.
7. He is free to make concessions or give undertakings in course of arguments on behalf of
his client on instructions from the junior Advocate.
When an Advocate is designated as a Senior Advocate, the registrar of the Supreme court or
the High court, as the case may be, shall communicate it to all the High courts and the
secretary to the State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India. In the communication, the
Name of the Advocate and the date on which he was designated as the Senior Advocate
should be mentioned.
The Senior Designation of the lawyers is provided by the rule book of their respective courts,
be it in the Supreme Court, or the High Courts. The proper and effective guidelines for such
designation was provided by the Supreme Court after the case of  Indira Jaising vs Supreme
Court Of India. These guidelines replaced the earlier arbitrary procedure of designating an
Advocate as Senior, and instead formed a permanent committee chaired by Chief Justice of
the specific Court, who can recommend names or invite applications from the lawyers willing
to attain such designation.The Rules (with minimal variation across States) provide that an
advocate needs to have a minimum of 10 years’ experience as a district or session judge or
be a practicing lawyer; or has been Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court. In the event that
an Advocate of such designation is found to have engaged any practice or conduct, which is
expressly stated to be violative, the Committee can be called upon, to review the matter,
which is then referred to the full court (all the judges of the respective High Court or the
Supreme Court), which decides if such Senior Advocate is found guilty of any offence or for
violation of the code of conduct expected of him/her
11) The main object of the contempt of court Act is to protect the dignity and decorum of the
court and to uphold the majesty of law. The object is not to protect the judges from criticism.
By providing punishment for contempt of the court the ability to deliver fearless and
impartial justice is strengthened. Definition: The definition given in the Act for the term
contempt of court is not exhaustive. it is difficult to define it by words, because the scope of
contempt of court is very wide.
Contempt means
(i) Any disrespect to the authority of law.
(ii)Disobedience of the order of the court.
(iii) Disturbance to the proceedings of the court.
Types: Following are the types of contempt (i) Civil contempt and(ii)Criminal contempt.
S.2(b)defines the term `civil contempt ‟.`It means (i)Willful disobedience to any
judgemaent,decree,direction,order,writ or other process of a court;or(ii)Willful breach of an
undertaking given to a court. For taking action for civil contempt on the ground of willful
disobedience of court order, it should be established that the court which has passed the order
has jurisdiction to pass such order.
Disobedience of an order passed without jurisdiction is not a Contempt must prove that the
court has no jurisdiction. A willful breach of an unconditional undertaking given orally or in
writing either in person or through his Advocate will be treated as civil contempt. When
undertakings are given orally , the court shall record it in the proceedings. Breach of a
compromise entered in the court cannot be treated as civil contempt. The remedy in such
cases is only a civil suit for specific performance of the promise
S.2c defines the term `criminal contempt‟. It means
(i) Publication of any matter (by words, spoken or written, or by signs or by visible
representation or otherwise. (ii) Doing of any other act which (a) Scandalises or tenda to
scandalide, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court; or (b) Prejudices or
interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of judicial proceeding; or (c) Interferes or
tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct the Administration of justice.
Publication means publishing something orally or in writing through news paper, pamplets,
radio, television or cinema. conversation between two persons cannot be treated as
publication.
To decide criminal contempt, the absence of criminal intention on the part of the person who
has published the matter containing criminal contempt or done the act of contempt will not be
taken into account.
In E.M.S.Nambothribad v.T.N.Mambiar (AIR 1970 SC 2015) the then Chief Minister of
Kerala, Mr.Nambothribad in a press meet expressed the following about judiciary. judiciary
is responsible for the suppression of people. Judges are favouring some class of people and
working against the other classes. Judiciary is acting against the interest of working class and
the agriculturist. judiciary is helping the oppressor group. The supreme court held that the act
of Mr. Nambothribad amounts to criminal contempt.
Making complaint against a Judge about his misconduct with sufficient evidence to the
higher authorities is not a contempt. But, the same complaint is published in any manner then
it amounts to contempt.
Preventing the court Amin from executing the court order, Threatening an Advocate not to
appear in a particular case, Threatening the witness, Preventing the witnesses from attending
the courts, Preventing the Commissioner from performing his duties are treated as criminal
contempt.(see D.C. Saxina v. Chief Justice of India at P 67)
12) Contempt against Subordinate Court
The Contempt of court Act, 1971 confers power only to the Supreme Court and High Courts
to try the contempt of court and award suitable punishment. Contempt of court against the
subordinate courts shall be tried by the High court. The concerned subordinate court or the
Advocate General of the state shall file the petition before the High court. In the Union
Territories, the officer authorized in this behalf shall file the petition. A contempt which
comes within the definition of S.228 of I.P.C. shall be tried and punished by the subordinate
courts. S.228: When judicial proceedings are going on, a person causing disturbance to the
proceedings and thereby shows disrespect to the court shall be punished with simple
imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months or with a fine which may extend to
Rs.1000/-or with both. In the trial of such cases the court shall follow the procedure laid
down in S.345 & 346 of Criminal procedure Code. This section deals with summary
procedure. So the court shall follow summary procedure and no detailed enquiry is needed.
Contempt Procedure in the Supreme Court or the High Court
The Contempt of the court Act confers the following two types of powers to the supreme
court and the High courts with regard to contempt of court.
1. Power to punish a person who has committed contempt of court inside the court(S.14).
2.Power to punish a person who has committed contempt of court outside the court(S.15).
1. Contempt of Court Inside the Court: When judicial proceedings are going on, if it appears
to the court that a person is guilty of contempt of court in their presence then the court shall
take the following actions.
(i) Pass an order to arrest the person
(ii) Give a notice in writing immediately regarding the charges against him.
(iii) Offered him opportunity to make his defence to the charge.
(iv) Take such evidence as may be necessary or as may be offered by such person and hear
him.
During the trial, if the person charged with contempt applies either orally or in writing, for a
trial by some other judge other than the judge in whose presence the alleged contempt is
committed then the request along with the statement of facts of the alleged contempt shall be
placed before the Chief Justice shall be taken as evidence. If the case is transferred to some
other Judge then the judge in whose presence the alleged contempt was committed need not
appear as witness. The facts submitted by him to the Chief Justice shall be taken as evidence.
During the pendency of the proceedings, the person charged with contempt shall be detained
in such custody as the court may specify. He may be released on bail with or without sureties
or on a self bond as the court thinks fit.
In Sugdev Singh v. Deeja Singh(AIR 1954 SC 186)the supreme court has advised that to the
extent possible, the judge in whose presence the alleged contempt was committed, must avoid
to conduct the trial by himself.
2. Contempt of Court Outside the Court: The supreme court or the High Court shall take
action for contempt of court committed outside the court in the following situations.
(i) On its own motion.
(ii) On a petition made by the Advocate General(in relation to the High Court)( or the
Attorney General or the solicitor General(in relation to the Supreme Court).
(iii) On a petition by any other person(if consent is given in writing to file such petition by
the Advocate General or Attorney General or Solicitor General as the case may be). A person
cannot file a contempt of court petition without the consent of the Advocate General or the
Attorney General or the Solicitor General. After Admitting a petition the court shall follow
the following procedure
.Contempt of Court Outside the Court:
The supreme court or the High Court shall take action for contempt of court committed
outside the court in the following situations. (i) On its own motion. (ii) On a petition made by
the Advocate General(in relation to the High Court)( or the Attorney General or the solicitor
General(in relation to the Supreme Court). (iii) On a petition by any other person(if consent is
given in writing to file such petition by the Advocate General or Attorney General or
Solicitor General as the case may be).
A person cannot file a contempt of court petition without the consent of the Advocate
General or the Attorney General or the Solicitor General. After Admitting a petition the court
shall follow the following procedure. 1.Notice shall be sent to the person charged with
contempt. 2.Person charged with contempt shall be allowed to submit his defence in an
affidavit. 3.The trial shall be conducted by persuing the defences submitted by him or taking
such other evidences as may be necessary. 4.The trial shall be conducted by a bench
consisting of two judges. 5.If the court feels that the person charged with contempt may
abscond then his properties shall be attached. Limitation: The limitation period for filing a
petition for contempt of court is one year. After one year even the court cannot take action on
its own motion(s.20).

13) The determination of whether contempt is civil or criminal depends on the

underlying purpose of the contempt ruling.  The major factor in determining
whether a contempt is civil or criminal is the purpose for which the power is
exercised, including the nature of the relief and the purpose for which the sentence
is imposed.  The purpose of civil contempt is to coerce the defendant to do the
thing required by the order for the benefit of the complainant.

The primary purposes of criminal contempt are to preserve the court’s authority
and to punish for disobedience of its orders.  If it is for civil contempt the
punishment is remedial, and for the benefit of the complainant.  But if it is for
criminal contempt the sentence is punitive, to vindicate the authority of the court.

An unconditional penalty is criminal in nature because it is solely and exclusively

punitive in nature.  The relief cannot undo or remedy what has been done nor
afford any compensation and the contemnor cannot shorten the term by promising
not to repeat his offense.  If the relief provided is a sentence of imprisonment, it is
punitive if the sentence is limited to imprisonment for a definite period.  If the
sanction is a fine, it is punitive when it is paid to the court.  However, a fine that is
payable to the court may be remedial when the contemnor can avoid paying the fine
simply by performing the affirmative act required by the court’s order.
In civil contempt cases, the sanctions are conditioned on compliance with the
court’s order.  The conditional nature of the punishment renders the relief civil in
nature because the contemnor can end the sentence and discharge himself at any
moment by doing what he had previously refused to do.  If the relief provided is a
sentence of imprisonment, it is remedial if the defendant stands committed unless
and until he performs the affirmative act required by the court’s order. Those who
are imprisoned until they obey the order, carry the keys of their prison in their own
pockets.  If the sanction is a fine, it is remedial and civil if paid to the complainant
even though the contemnor has no opportunity to purge himself of the fine or if the
contemnor can avoid the fine by complying with the court’s order.

The distinction between civil and criminal contempt is critical, because criminal
contempt triggers additional constitutional safeguards.  Civil contempt must be
proved by clear and convincing evidence.  In a criminal contempt proceeding, the
burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.   Intent for purposes of criminal
contempt is subjective, not objective, and must necessarily be ascertained from all
the acts, words, and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

Also see section 2b and 2c of the contempt of court act in answer 11 above.

14) S.2(b)defines the term `civil contempt

‟.`It means
(i) Willful disobedience to any judgemaent,decree,direction,order,writ or other process of a
court;or
(ii)Willful breach of an undertaking given to a court. For taking action for civil contempt on
the ground of willful disobedience of court order, it should be established that the court which
has passed the order has jurisdiction to pass such order. Disobedience of an order passed
without jurisdiction is not a Contempt must prove that the court has no jurisdiction. A willful
breach of an unconditional undertaking given orally or in writing either in person or through
his Advocate will be treated as civil contempt. When undertakings are given orally , the court
shall record it in the proceedings. Breach of a compromise entered in the court cannot be
treated as civil contempt. The remedy in such cases is only a civil suit for specific
performance of the promise. Punishment: S.12 prescribes the punishment for contempt. court
may award any one of the following punishments.
(i) Simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months.
(ii) Fine which may extend to Rs.2000/-.

(iii)Both the punishment ie., Imprisonment and fine together

S.12 Prescribes the punishment for contempt of court. punishment is same for the civil as
well as the criminal contempt. If the charge of contempt of court is proved, the Court shall
award any one of the following punishment. 1.Simple imprisonment for a term which may
extend to 6 months. 2.Fine which may extend to Rs.2000/-. 3.Both the punishments ie.,
imprisonment and fine together. According to S.12(2),For contempt of court any one of the
above mentioned punishment alone can be given and not any other punishment alone can be
given and not any other punishment. But, in Delhi Judicial Services Association v. State of
Gujarat (AIR 1991 SC 2176)the Supreme Court held punishment not mentioned in S.12 can
also be given for contempt of court. In Re Vinay Chandra Mishra (AIR 1995 SC2348)the
supreme court held that for contempt of court committed by an Advocate, he shall be
suspended from practice for a fixed period or he shall be permanently restrained from
practice. The Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a review petition against this order. In
which the supreme court held that for contempt of court the court cannot cancel the
Advocates right to practice. But, he shall be suspended from practice for a fixed period. For
the civil contempt, normally fine alone will be imposed. If the court thinks that fine alone is
not a sufficient punishmentthen he shall be put in the civil prison instead of ordinary
imprisonment. If the contempt of court is committed by a company in collusion of the
Directors, Secretary and other Managerical staff then shall be detained in the civil prison. If
the contempt is committed by a firm then the punishment shall be enforced against the
partners of the firm.

15) Question 13 and 15 are same, so same answer