PRIVILEGES OF SENIOR ADVOCATES IN INDIA

Restrictions on senior advocates are laid under Sections 16 (3) and 49 (1) (g) of the Advocates Act.

 
Section 30 in THE ADVOCATES ACT, 1961 describes advocates right to practice.

 
Right of advocates to practice.—Subject to provisions of this Act, every advocate whose name is entered in the 1[State roll] shall be
entitled as of right to practice throughout the territories to which this Act extends,—
(i) In all courts including the Supreme Court;

 
(ii) Before any tribunal or person legally authorized to take evidence; and

 
(iii) Before any other authority or person before whom such advocate is by or under any law for the time being in force entitled to
practice.

 
Section 16 in THE ADVOCATES ACT, 1961

 
16. Senior and other advocates.—

 
(1) There shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates.
 
(2) An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as the 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.

 
(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: 2[Provided that where any such senior advocate makes an application
before the 31st December 1965 to the Bar Council maintaining the roll in which his name has been entered that he does not desire
to continue as a senior advocate, the Bar Council may grant the application and the roll shall be altered accordingly.]

49 (1) (g) of the Advocates Act

 
(g) the restrictions in the matter of practice to which senior advocates shall be subject; 4[(gg) the form of dresses or robes to be
worn by advocates, having regard to the climatic conditions, appearing before any court or tribunal;]

 
Senior Advocates shall, in the matter of their practice of the profession of law mentioned in Section 30 of the Act, be subject to the
following restrictions:

 
(a)  A Senior Advocate shall not file a vakalatnama or act in any Court, or Tribunal, or before any person or other authority
mentioned in Section 30 of the Act.

 
Explanation: “To act” means to file an appearance or any pleading or application in any court or Tribunal or before any person or
other authority mentioned in Section 30 of the Act, or to do any act other than pleading required or authorized by law to be done by
a party in such Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authorities mentioned in the said Section either in person or by his
recognized agent or by an advocate or an attorney on his behalf.

 
(b)  (i)   A Senior Advocate shall not appear without an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court or without an Advocate in Part II of
the State Roll in any court or Tribunal or before any person or other authorities mentioned in Section 30 of the Act.

 
      (ii)   Where a Senior Advocate has been engaged prior to the coming into force of the rules in this Chapter, he shall not continue
thereafter unless an advocate in Part II of the State Roll is engaged along with him. Provided that a Senior Advocate may continue to
appear without an advocate in Part II of the Sate Roll in cases in which he had been briefed to appear for the prosecution or the
defense in a criminal case, if he was so briefed before he is designated as a senior advocate or before coming into operation of the
rules in this Chapter as the case may be.

 
(c)   He shall not accept instructions to draft pleading or affidavits, advice on evidence or to do any drafting work of an analogous
kind in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authorities mentioned in Section 30 of the Act or undertake convincing
work of any kind whatsoever. This restriction, however, shall not extend to settling any such matter as aforesaid in consultation with
an advocate in Part II of the State Roll.

(cc) A Senior Advocate shall, however, be free to make concessions or give an undertaking in the course of arguments on behalf of
his clients on instructions from the junior advocate.

 
(d)   He shall not accept directly from a client any brief or instructions to appear in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or
other authorities in India.

 
(e)   A Senior Advocate who had acted as an Advocate (Junior) in a case shall not after he has been designated as a Senior Advocate
advice on grounds of appeal in a Court of Appeal or in the Supreme Court, except with an Advocate as aforesaid.

 
(f)    A Senior Advocate may in recognition of the services rendered by an Advocate in Part-II of the State Roll appearing in any matter
pay him a fee which he considers reasonable.

Rights of Advocates:

1. Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression:

Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution provides that the right to freedom of speech and expression is available to all citizens. An
Advocate enjoys this right even in court, unlike other citizens.

2) Right to Practice:

It is the right of an Advocate to represent his client in the court of law. According to Section 30 of the Advocates Act, an Advocate
has the right to practice his advocacy in any court of law in India.

3) Right for Welfare Fund:

As per section 15 of the Andhra Pradesh Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987, every advocate practicing in any court in the State
becomes a member of the Welfare Fund.

4) Right of Fee:

As per Rule 11 of chapter II of Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules, he has a right to a fee consistent with his standing at the bar.

5) Right to enter the Court:

An Advocate has the right to sit in the seats provided for advocates, whether he is having a case or not, and observe the
proceedings.

Privileges enjoyed by Advocates:

1. Privilege of exemption from arrest:

An advocate, while going to the court or during the proceedings before a Court and while returning from the court, is exempted
from civil arrest. However, this does not apply to arrest for contempt of court or arrests for criminal offenses.
2) Vakalatnama in favor of Advocate:

When the client signs Vakalatnama in favor of an Advocate, such an Advocate gets the exclusive privilege to represent his client in
that particular matter. No other advocate can appear in that case without his consent for the reason of express prohibition.

3) An Advocate has a liability of Negligence:

No action can be taken against the advocate if he does any negligence.

4) An advocate can review Parliamentary Bills for remuneration:

Advocates have the privilege to review parliamentary bills and suggest amendments too.

Advocate sticker a Privilege?

In India, Advocates tend to stick Advocate Sticker on their cars to evade police actions. It is pertinent to know that in law there is no
express provision to grant privilege to Advocates for use of such stickers. In December 2020 the Madras High Court held that misuse
of Advocate stickers should stop.
Section 16 provides that there shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates. 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,
standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, he is deserving of such distinction. 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 legal profession, prescribe.
An advocate of the Supreme Court Who was a senior advocate of that Court immediately before the appointed day shall, for this
purpose be deemed to be a senior advocate.

Provided that where any such senior advocate makes an application before the 31st December, 1965, to the Bar Council,
maintaining the roll in which his name has been entered that he does not desire to continue as a senior advocate, the Bar Council
may grant the application and the roll shall be altered accordingly. The rules framed by the Bar Council of India in the exercise of its
power under section 49(1)(g) 0f the Advocates Act are also notable. Chapter I of Part VI of the Rules of Bar Council of India makes
provisions in relation to the senior advocates. The provisions of these rules may be summed up as follows:

In the matter of their practice, a senior advocate shall not file a vakalatnama or act in any court or Tribunal or before any person or
authority mentioned in Section 30 of the Advocates Act. Explanation to the rule makes it clear that ‘to act’ means to file an
appearance or any pleading or application in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authority mentioned in section 30
of the Act or to do any act other than pleading required or authorized by law to be done by a party in such courts or Tribunal or
before any person or other authority mentioned in the said section either in person or by his recognized agent or by an advocate or
an attorney on his behalf.

The rule provides further that a senior advocate shall not appear without an advocate on record in the Supreme Court or without an
advocate in Part II of the State Roll in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authorities mentioned in Section 30 of the
Act. Where a senior advocate has been engaged prior to the coming into force of the rules, he shall not continue thereafter, unless
an advocate in Part II of the State Roll is engaged along with him, provided that a senior advocate may continue to appear without
an advocate in Part II of the State Roll in case which he had been briefed to appear for the prosecution or the defence in a criminal
case, if he was so briefed before he is designated as a senior advocate or before coming in the operation of the rules, as the case
may be.

Besides, a senior advocate shall not accept instructions to draft pleading or affidavits, advice on evidence or to do any drafting work
of an analogous kind in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authority mentioned in Section 80 of the Act or
undertake conveyancing work of any kind whatsoever.

This restriction shall not extend to settle any such matter as aforesaid in consultation with an advocate in Part .II of the State Roll.

The rule provides further that a senior advocate be free to make concessions or give undertakings in the course of arguments on
behalf of his clients on instructions from the junior advocates. A senior advocate may in recognition of the services rendered by an
advocate in Part II of the State Roll appearing in any matter pay him a fee which he considers reasonable.

The rule provides that a senior advocate who had acted as an advocate (junior) in a case cannot, after he has been designated as a
senior advocate, advice on grounds of appeal in a court of appeal or in the Supreme Court, except with an advocate as aforesaid. It
has also been provided that a senior advocate shall not accept directly from a client any brief or instructions to appear in any Court
or Tribunal or before any person or other authority in India.

Features of Senior Advocate

Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 states that there shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other
advocates. A lawyer, with his consent, may be designated as senior advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of that opinion
that by virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, he is deserving of such distinction.

Collaboration:
Capability or ability to show your talent to multi-party work environment and this process shows your talent of working well in a
team as well as it sets a collective contribution so as to satisfy the client. The main aim is to settle the ego and positions of each
other to reach the maximum outcome.

Proper Time Management:

Law demands hard work and hard work needs time and with that it also needs to prioritise their work, task and also delegate the
work.

Credibility:

Credibility is based on trust. The keystone of you career is built on this level of trust with your colleagues, clients, judges and
sometimes even opposing counsel. But this quality or a trait which is not by birth but it is earned with time. The only effective way to
build your career is trust and human interaction is a way to maintain it or destroy it. In this profession, one should be a man of
words.

Confidence:

Both personal and professional confidence is needed to become a senior advocate as analysing power of your decision time,
advantages and disadvantages should be high. Confidence can be seen within yourself and it defines you as you walk and talk. Even
your gestures play a major role.

Attention to detail:

While drafting any paper, misplace of single word can convert the meaning of the sentence. An advocate must have an accurate
approach towards their work. Any mistake application can lead to rejection of your application.
Experience:

Experience speaks. With your practise experience comes. It is one of the traits that a senior advocate has and through this
experience an advocate can handle all the cases, circumstances and even all the unwanted situations. His handling power becomes
prominent with comparison to others.

Logical Thinking:

A good lawyer always keeps his personal life separate from professional life and they usually are not emotional. But they need to
understand the feelings of the other person and apprehend their issues. This trait is very important your personality. Your ability is
tested when you can think in any circumstances or situations without even consulting your associates and then present that case in
your favour in a reasonable or logical manner so as to win your case. Never take your opposite counsel personally because it’s
about your client not about you and always be harmonious even with opposite counsel also.

Self control:

Whether your case is on a negative track or a positive track control on emotions, expression and thoughts is also essential. You
always need to think before you speak. If words are beneficial they can be harmful too.

Stability:

A senior lawyer always has stability in these thoughts as well as in his career. He can tackle every situation in a peaceful manner and
have a conversation calmly without any aggression. Stability and maturity in professional or personal life comes with experience.
Senior Advocates and other Advocates

A senior advocate in general is based and judged on age and experience of a particular legal profession. It is also defined in
Advocates Act as stated above. While a junior lawyer lacks experience and does not have much idea of how to tackle things and go
around with them.

Senior advocate has to follow a separate code of conduct. It is different from other lawyers.

General people see an aged lawyer with good practice and experience as a ‘senior lawyer’ while a fresh lawyer needs to learn
so many things from the senior lawyer and had to grasp some skills.

Devotion and years of practice is the key behind the success of a senior lawyer while a junior lawyer lacks this skill and quality.

Senior advocates are prohibited from doing some kind of legal work like drafting, etc while junior advocates have no such
prohibition.

The status of senior lawyer is designated to them by the Supreme Court or High Court on the basis of merit and seniority.

The court can give this status to any advocate but with their consent if it is in the opinion because of his ability or special knowledge
in law.

A saving provision has been laid down with respect to the advocates who are right now senior advocates and who will continue to
enjoy the status of senior

A senior advocate is prohibited or banned from accepting some kind of legal work. For e.g. drafting, draw pleadings or affidavits,

A senior advocate is not permitted to appear without an Advocate-on-record or without any junior.

A senior cannot file any pleading or represent his client neither can draft an application by his own handwriting.
But this does not mean that it gives special favour or does any discrimination and if it does then it will violate Article 14 that is
equality and Article 18 conferment of any title of the constitution.

Conclusion

The role and duty of advocate is to help in providing justice. Advocate work as an instrument of getting justice. Senior advocate is
recognition of his skills, experience, knowledge and expertise. If one is aspiring to become a senior advocate, then it needs lots of
sweat taking hard work and with that special knowledge in the field of law. But only hard work is not the key to success with that
you also need to do some smart work. Among that, building your communication skills, advocacy skills, counseling skills and use of
your brain in multiple directions. To become a senior lawyer and a have a special ability is not so easy task. Experience is one of the
major factors which creates your confidence and leads you to the success.