Members of State Bar Councils

 

Vande Matram! In this article, I am discussing members of the State Bar Councils, who are in the light of the Bar Council of India rule and the Advocates Act, 1961. Let’s begin.

Members of Bar Councils:

Introduction:

Advocates Act 1961 was enacted for the uniformity of the legal profession and to lay down the rules and regulations for the same. Also, it provides for the constitution of the state bar councils across the territory of India and the Bar Council of India.

For your reference the Sections 3(2), 3(3), 3(3A), 3(4), 3(5), and 3(6) are produced and explained here as follows:

(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 Councils of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, the Advocate-General of each of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland ex officio; in the case of the State Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, the Advocate-General of each of the States of Punjab and Haryana, ex officio; and in the case of any other State Bar Council, the Advocate-General of the State, ex officio;

Section 3(2) provides for the appointment of the members of the state bar councils through its various sections, which are already given in the article “Establishment of State Bar Councils in India: Section 3 of Advocates Act 1961”

(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 a 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 (38 of 1926).

Section 3(2)(b) states the number of members required to be elected in a state bar council depending upon the number of the electorate with that bar council.

a) For the number of electorates not exceeding 5,000(five thousand), the elected members should be 15 (fifteen)

b) For the number of electorates exceeding 5,000 (five thousand) and not exceeding 10,000 (ten thousand, the elected members should be 20 (Twenty)

c) For the number of electorates exceeding 10,000 (ten thousand), the elected members should be 25 (twenty-five)

Further, this clause provides for the eligibility of advocates who can compete in elections and become members of the state bar council. The conditions are as follows:

a) all the members are subject to the rules made by the Bar Council of India regarding elections of the members of State Bar Council,

b) such advocate must have for at least ten years been advocates on a State roll,

(3) There shall be a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman of each State Bar Council elected by the Council in such manner as may be prescribed.

Section 3(3) provides for the election and appointment of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the State Bar Council who are elected by the council as per the procedure prescribed by the BCI rules.

(3A) Every person holding office as Chairman or as Vice-Chairman of any State Bar Council immediately before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 (38 of 1977), shall, on such commencement, cease to hold office as Chairman or Vice-Chairman, as the case may be:

Provided that every such person shall continue to carry on the duties of his office until the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be, of each State Bar Council, elected after the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 (38 of 1977), assumes charges of the office.

Section 3(3A) provides for the effect of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 on the Chainman and vice-Chairman of the State bar councils.

(4) An advocate shall be disqualified from voting at an election under sub-section (2) or for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a State Bar Council, unless he possesses such qualifications or satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed in this behalf by the Bar Council of India, and subject to any such rules that may be made, an electoral roll shall be prepared and revised from time to time by each State Bar Council.

According to Section 3(4), an advocate can be disqualified from voting at an election of state bar council or BCI as per the rules framed by BCI in the view of Section 49 of Advocates Act 1961.

(5) Nothing in the proviso to sub-section (2) shall affect the term of office of any member elected before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1964 (21 of 1964), but every election after such commencement shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the rules made by the Bar Council of India to give effect to the said proviso.

Section 3(5) provides for the term of office of any member elected before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1964.

(6) Nothing in clause (b) of sub-section (2) shall affect the representation of elected members in any State Bar Council as constituted immediately before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1973 (60 of 1973), until that State Bar Council is reconstituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Section 3(6) provides for the representation of elected members in State Bar Councils constituted before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1973.

Further Section 8 of the Advocates Act 1961 provides for the term of the office of the members of the state bar councils. The section is as follows:

8. Term of office of members of 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 members 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 for a period not exceeding six months.

Thus as per Section 8

a) Term of office of an elected member of a state bar council is five years.

b) In certain conditions mentioned in Section 54 of the Act the term of office of an elected member may be different.

c) The period of five years is counted from the date of publication of the result of the election in which such member contested.

d) If in certain circumstances bar council fail to conduct the election of members before the expiry of the term, then the term can be extended for six months by recording reasons in writing.

In certain conditions term of office of an elected member is depending on Section 54 of the Act, which reads as follows:

54. Term of office of members of first State Bar Councils.―Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the term of office of the elected members of a State Bar Council constituted for the first time, shall be two years from the date of the first meeting of the Council:

Provided that such members shall continue to hold office until the State Bar Council is reconstituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Section 54 provides for the term of office of elected members of a Bar Council constituted newly, and such term of office is 2 years from the first meeting of the council.

So this is all about the membership of a state bar council.

Note: Part in Red words is part of Bare Act – Advocates Act, 1961.

If you want to know about specific provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Bar Council Rules then let me know in the comments below.

To know the references and to read more articles related to Professional ethics and professional accounting system please visit this page Legal Profession: Professional Ethics and Professional accounting system.

Thanks for reading till the end. Please share this with all legal professionals.

================