State

bar
council
 Introduction

The Indian High Courts Act, 1861 (commonly known as the Charter Act)
passed by the British Parliament enabled the Crown to establish High Courts in
India by Letters Patent and these Letters Patent authorized and empowered the
High Courts to make rules for advocates and attorneys (commonly known as
Solicitors).

After Independence it was deeply felt that the Judicial Administration in India
should be changed according to the needs of the time. The Law Commission
was assigned the job of preparing a report on the Reform of Judicial
Administration. In the mean while the All India Bar Committee went into detail
of the matter and made its recommendations in 1953. To implement the
recommendations of the All India Bar Committee and after taking into account
the recommendations of the Law Commission on the subject of Reform of
Judicial Administration in so far as the recommendation relate to the Bar and to
legal education, a Comprehensive Bill was introduced in the Parliament.

The Advocate Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and it received
the assent of the President on 19the May,1961 and it become The Advocates
Act,1961. The Advocate Act, 1961, has made provisions for the establishment
of Bar Councils. The Bar Council will be two patterns - Bar Council of India
and State Bar Council. Under Section 3 of the Act State Bar Council will be
established. However, Under Section 4, a Bar Council of India will be
established.
 State Bar Council

The State Bar Councils of have been constituted under Section 3 of The
Advocates Act, 1961, is the apex professional body for advocates is concerned
with the standards of legal profession and the equipment of those who seek
entry into the profession.

The State Bar Councils have been conferred the functions under The Advocates
Act to admit persons as advocates on its roll, to entertain and determine cases of
misconduct against advocates on its roll, to safeguard the rights, privileges and
interests of advocates on its roll and to do all things necessary for discharging
the functions under the Act.

Establishment and organisation

According to Section 3(1), There shall be a Bar Council —

(a) for each of States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir,
Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan Uttar
Pradesh and Uttaranchal, to be known as the Bar Council of that State;
(b) for the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland and Tripura to be known as the Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland,
Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

(c) for the State of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep, to be known
as the Bar Council of Kerala;

(cc) for the State of Tamil Nadu and the Union territory of Pondicherry to be
known as the Bar Council of Madras;

(ccc) for the States of Maharashtra and Goa, and the Union territories of Dadra
and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, to be known as the Bar Council of
Maharashtra and Goa;

(d) for the States of Punjab and Haryana, and the Union territory of Chandigarh,
to be known as the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana;

(dd) for the State of Himachal Pradesh, to be known as the Bar Council of
Himachal Pradesh;
(e) for the State of West Bengal and the Union territory of Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, to be known as the Bar Council of West Bengal; and

(f) for the Union territory of Delhi, to be known as the Bar Council of Delhi.

Members of State Bar Council

According to Section 3(2) a State Bar Council shall consist of the following
members, namely:—

(a) in the case of the State Bar Council of Delhi, the Additional Solicitor
General of India ex officio in the case of the State Bar Council of Assam,
Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, the Advocate General of each of
the State of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, ex officio; in
the case of the State Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, the Advocate-General
of each of the State of Punjab and Haryana, ex officio; and in the case of any
other State Bar Council, the Advocate-General of the State, ex officio;

(b) in the case of a State Bar Council with an electorate not exceeding five
thousand, fifteen members, in the case of a State Bar Council with an electorate
exceeding five thousand but not exceeding ten thousand, twenty members, and
in the case of the State Bar Council with an electorate exceeding ten thousand,
twenty-five members, elected in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote from amongst advocates
on the electoral roll of the State Bar Council: Provided that as nearly as possible
one-half of such elected members shall subject to any rules that may be made in
this behalf by the Bar Council of India, be persons who have for at least ten
years been advocates on a State roll, and in computing the said period of ten
years in relation to any such person, there shall be included any period during
which the person has been an advocate enrolled under the Indian Bar Councils
Act, 1926
 Term of Office of the Members of State Bar Council

Section 8 Provides term of the office of the Members of the State Bar Council -

The term of office of an elected member of a State Bar Council (other than
an elected member thereof referred to in section 54) shall be five years from the
date of publication of the result of his election:

Provided that where a State Bar Council fails to provide for the election of
its member before the expiry of the said term, the Bar Council of India may, by
order for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the said term, the Bar
Council of India may, by order, extend the said term for a period not exceeding
six months.

Functions of State Bar Councils

a) General functions -

Section 6(1) of the Advocate Act 1961 makes provisions in respect of the
functions of the State Bar Council.

Functions of State Bar Councils

1. to admit persons as advocates on its roll;

2. to prepare and maintain such roll;
3. to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll;
4. to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll;
5. to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effective
implementation of the welfare schemes referred to in clause (a) of sub-
section (2) of this section clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 7;
6. to promote and support law reform;
7. to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and
publish journals and paper of legal interest;
8. to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;
9. to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;
10.to provide for the election of its members;
11. to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given
under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 7;
12. to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act; (i) to do
all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.
 A State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner
for the purpose of—

a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent,

disabled or other advocates;

b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;

c) establishing law libraries.

A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for
all or any of the purposes specified in sub- section (2) which shall be credited to
the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.

b) To Issue Certificates of Enrollment -

Section 22 of Advocate Act 1961 provides that, There shall be issued a

certificate of enrollment in the prescribed form by the State Bar Council to
every person whose name is entered in the roll of advocates maintained by it
under this Act.
Every person whose name is so entered in the State roll shall notify any
change in the place of his permanent residence to the State Bar Council
concerned within ninety days of such change.

c) To Maintain Roll of Advocates -

Section 17. of Advocate Act, 1961 provides that every State Bar Council shall
prepare and maintain a roll of advocates in which shall be entered the names
and addresses of all persons who were entered as advocates on the roll of any
High Court under the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926, immediately before the
appointed day including persons, being citizens of India, who before the 15th
day of August, 1947, were enrolled as advocates under the said Act in any area
which before the said date was comprised within India as defined in the
Government of India Act, 1935, and who at any time express an intention in the
prescribed manner to practice within the jurisdiction of the Bar Council also
enroll all other persons who are admitted to be advocates on the roll of the State
Bar Council under this Act on or after the appointed date.

Each such roll of advocates shall consist of two parts - the first part containing
the names of senior advocates and the second part, the names of other
advocates.

Section 19 of the Advocate Act, 1961, requires the State Bar Council to send
copies of rolls of advocates to the Bar Council of India. It provides that every
State Bar Council shall send to the Bar Council of India an authenticated copy
of the roll of advocates prepared by it for the first time under this Act and shall
thereafter communicate to the Bar Council of India all alterations in, the
additions to, any such roll, as soon as the same have been made.

Powers of State Bar Council

a) Power to make rules

The State Bar Council has been empowered to make rules to carry on
the purposes of section 16 to Section 27 of the Advocate Act, 196, dealing with
the admission and enrollment of advocate, Section 28(1) provides that the State
Bar Council may make rules to carry out the purposes of chapter III (Section 16
to section 28) of the Act but this rules shall not effective unless approved by Bar
Council of India.

b) Power to punish Advocate

The State Bar Council has Power to punish an advocate for professional
misconduct and other misconduct. The Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar
Council may make any of the following order -

(a) dismiss the complaint or, where the proceedings were initiated at the
instance of the State Bar Council, direct that the proceedings be filed;

(b) reprimand the advocate;

(c) suspend the advocate from practice for such period as it may deem fit;

(d) remove the name of the advocate from the State roll of advocates.

c) To appoint Committees and Staff Members

A bar Council establishes several committees to its function under

this Act including the disciplinary committee, Executive Committee,
Enrollment Committee, etc. Every such committee is allotted a distinct function
to carry.

d) To Maintain Accounts and Conduct Audit

Section 12. of Advocate Act 1961 provides that every Bar Council shall cause
to be maintained such books of accounts and other books in such form and in
such manner as may be prescribed. The accounts of a Bar Council shall be
audited by auditors duly qualified to act as auditors of companies under the
Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), at such times and in such manner as may be
prescribed. A State Bar Council shall send a copy of its accounts together with a
copy of the report of the auditors thereon to the Central Government and shall
cause the same to be published in the Gazette of India

Admission as an Advocate on a State Roll -

A person may be enrolled as an advocate by the State Bar Council if he
fulfills the Conditions required for admission as an advocate Under section 24
of the Advocate Act, 1961. Conditions laid down in this section for admission
as an advocate, may be enrolled as an advocate by the State Bar Council,
namely :

a) He is a citizen of India.

b) He has completed the age of twenty-one years.

c) He has obtained the degree of Law.

d) He fulfills such other conditions as may be specified in the rules made by

the State Bar Council.

e) He has paid, in respect of enrollment, stamp duty, and an enrollment fee

payable to State Bar Council.

An application for enrollment shall be made in the prescribed form to the

State Bar Council within whose jurisdiction the applicant proposes to practice.
The application is referred to enrollment Committee of State Bar Council. The
application may be allowed or rejected. Where the Enrollment Committee of
Bar Council propose to refuse any such application, it shall refer such
application for the opinion of the Bar Council of India.

It may be noted that Section 26A of Advocate Act empowers a State Bar
Council by amendment of 1973 to remove from the State Roll the name of any
Advocate who is dead or from whom a request has been received to that effect.
 Section 27 of The Act Provides that where an application has been once
refused, it cannot be entertained by another Bar Council except in certain
circumstances. It lays down that where a State Bar Council has refused the
application of any person for admission as an advocate on its roll, no other State
Bar Council shall entertain an application for admission of such person as an
advocate on its roll, except with the previous consent in writing of the State Bar
Council which refused the application and of the Bar Council of India.

Disqualification of members

Section 10B of Advocate Act states an elected member of a Bar Council shall
be deemed to have vacated his office if he is declared by the Bar. Council of
which he is a member to have been absent without sufficient excuse from three
consecutive meetings of such Council, or if his name is, for any cause, removed
from the roll of advocates or if he is otherwise disqualified under any rule made
by the Bar Council of India.
 Conclusion

The Advocates Act, 1961 is an act to amend and consolidate the law relating to
legal practitioners and to provide for the constitution of Bar Councils and an All
India Bar. The State Bar Councils of have been constituted under Section 3 of
The Advocates Act, 1961, is the apex professional body for advocates is
concerned with the standards of legal profession and the equipment of those
who seek entry into the profession.
The State Bar Councils have been conferred the functions under The Advocates
Act to admit persons as advocates on its roll, to entertain and determine cases of
misconduct against advocates on its roll, to safeguard the rights, privileges and
interests of advocates on its roll and to do all things necessary for discharging
the functions under the Act.

Bibliography
 The Advocates Act, 1961

 www.srdlawnotes.com

 www.taxguru.in

 www.scribd.com