Functions of Bar Councils as per Sections 6 and 7

 

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

Functions of Bar Councils:

Introduction:

Advocates’ Act 1961 governs the legal profession in India and for the association purpose of all the legal practitioners the Act provides for the constitution of the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils across the territory of India. There are about 21 State Bar Councils in India that are working for the betterment of advocates in their respective jurisdictions.

S R Das committee i.e. All India Bar Committee headed by S R Das through the report of March 1953 proposed for the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body. It was suggested that the all-India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education.

The State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961. These are the statutory bodies for all the states and union territories of India. Also, Section 4 of the Act provides for the constitution of the Bar Council of India which is the apex statutory body of the Bar councils in India. All bar councils regulate the rules for the legal profession and education in their respective states and also act as the representatives of the advocates of that state, thereby acting in their interests.

As Bar Councils are established as per the provisions of Section 3 and Section 4 of Advocates’ Act, 1961; each Bar Council has to perform certain functions in their respective jurisdictions. They are elaborated in Sections 6 and 7 of the Act. Section 6 provides for the functions of a State Bar Council which state as follows:

6. Functions of State Bar Councils.―(1) The functions of a State Bar Council shall be―

(a) to admit persons as advocates on its roll;

(b) to prepare and maintain such roll;

(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll;

(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll;

(dd) 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 and clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 7;

(e) to promote and support law reform;

(ee) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;

(eee) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;

(f) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;

(g) to provide for the election of its members;

(gg) to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given under clause (i) of

sub-section (1) of section 7;

(h) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

The functions given in the Section 6 has to be performed in the light of Section 7 of the Act which is as follows:

7. Functions of Bar Council of India.―

(1) The functions of the Bar Council of India shall be―

* * * * *

(b) to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates;

(c) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council;

(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates;

(e) to promote and support law reform;

(f) to deal with and dispose of any matter arising under this Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council;

(g) to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils;

(h) to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils;

(i) to recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect Universities or cause the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with such directions as it may give in this behalf;

(ia) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;

(ib) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;

(ic) to recognise on a reciprocal basis foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the purpose of admission as an advocate under this Act;]

(j) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;

(k) to provide for the election of its members;

(l) to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act;

(m) to do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.

(2) The Bar Council of India may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of—

(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for indigent, disabled or other advocates;

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

(c) establishing law libraries.

(3) The Bar Council of India 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.

As bar councils are of two types: a) Bar Council of India and b) State Bar Council, the functions and responsibilities are more or less same for the both. Let’s have a look on the cooperation of the both for each function:

Function	Bar Council of India	State Bar Councils
Sec. 6(1)(a) to admit persons as advocates on its roll	Help to State Bar Councils by allotting funds for the same	It is the sole responsibility of State Bar Councils to enroll the law graduates from their jurisdictions.
Sec. 6(1)(b) to prepare and maintain such roll	Help to State Bar Councils by allotting funds for the same	It is the sole responsibility of State Bar Councils to enroll the law graduates from their jurisdictions.
Sec. 6(1)(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll	Frame rules of the disciplinary committee to perform such actions (Sec. 7(1)(c))	Must act according to the rules and regulations of the disciplinary committee and complete the required procedure in such matters. State bar councils may refer such matters to BCI in certain circumstances.
Sec. 6(1)(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll. Sec. 7(1)(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates	The bar councils are established for the rights of the advocates hence it is necessary to safeguard the rights, privileges, and interests of advocates on the roll.	The bar councils are established for the rights of the advocates hence it is necessary to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on the roll.
Sec. 6(1)(dd) to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effective implementation of the welfare schemes	Allot funds for such welfare schemes as mentioned in Sec. 6(2)(a) and 7(2)(a)	Implement such schemes for the welfare of the advocates in need and disabled as mentioned in Sec. 6(2)(a) and 7(2)(a)
Sec. 6(1)(e) to promote and support law reform   Sec. 7(1)(e) to promote and support law reform	Law reforms are necessary as the new developments in all the eras of life are taking place day by day. The Bar Council must arrange such programmes for the promotion and support of law reforms which are supporting natural justice. Guide state bar councils for the same.	Law reforms are necessary as the new developments in all the eras of life are taking place day by day. The Bar Council must arrange such programmes for the promotion and support of law reforms which are supporting natural justice. Conduct such promotion under the guidance of BCI
Sec. 6(1)(ee) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest Sec. 7(1)(ia)	BCI may provide financial aid for such purpose for awareness of the law and for the academic development of the field. Also, BCI can conduct such seminars, talk shows and can publish law papers and journals on the national level.	State bar councils must organize programmes and conduct projects for such purposes for awareness of the law and for the academic development of the field. Such tasks must be performed at the state level.
Sec. 6(1)(eee) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner Sec. 7(1)(ib)	BCI can allot funds for such operations. And guide such projects as per the provisions of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987	State Bar Councils must organize such programmes in the guidance of BCI in the light of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987
Sec. 6(1)(f) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council Sec. 7(1)(j)	BCI allots funds to State bar councils for performing various functions. Also, BCI has to manage its own funds and sustainably invest them so that all the functions can be performed.	State Bar Councils must manage such funds and bifurcate them to invest sustainably so that all the functions can be performed.
Sec. 6(1)(g) to provide for the election of its members Sec. 7(1)(k)	BCI allots funds for this purpose to State Bar Councils. Also, BCI allocates these funds for conducting elections for its members.	State Bar Councils allocate these funds for conducting elections for the members of the bar council as well as for the committee members of subordinate bar associations through the election.
Sec. 6(1)(gg) to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 7	Guide the state bar councils for conducting such inspections of the universities giving law education	Must perform the inspection of universities giving law education at undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. levels for the academic growth of the profession. Must follow the guiding principles of BCI.
Sec. 6(2)(a) and Sec. 7(2)(a) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other Advocates	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and implement such schemes for all the advocates enrolled under any roll in the country who are needy or disabled. And perform such welfare work with help of state bar councils.	It is the responsibility of the state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and implement schemes for all the advocates enrolled under any roll in the country who are needy or disabled. And perform such welfare work with help of subordinate bar associations.
Sec. 6(2)(b) and Sec. 7(2)(b) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and implement such schemes for poor and weaker sections of society in light of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987	It is the responsibility of state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and implement schemes for poor and weaker sections of society in light of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987
Sec. 6(2)(c) and Sec. 7(2)(c) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of establishing law libraries	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and establish law libraries across the nation for the academic growth of the profession.	It is the responsibility of the state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and establish law libraries across its jurisdiction for the academic growth of the profession.
Sec. 6(3) 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	Not applicable	Sole responsibility of respective state bar council.
Sec. 7(1)(b) to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates	It is the responsibility of BCI to frame such rules and regulations for professional conduct and etiquettes of the advocates.	State bar councils must spread awareness of such rules and regulations for professional conduct and the etiquettes of the advocates.
Sec. 7(1)(c) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council	It is the sole responsibility of BCI to frame a procedure of working of its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council so that the universal procedure is followed across India. All the matters are handled in a specific way as per this procedure.	Must act according to the rules and regulations of the disciplinary committee and complete the required procedure in such matters. State bar councils may refer such matters to BCI in certain circumstances.
Sec. 7(1)(f) to deal with and dispose of any matter arising under this Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council	BCI must follow the procedure laid as per Sec. 7(1)(c) for this purpose and deal the matters referred to it by state bar councils for their disposal.	State bar council may refer matters before its disciplinary committee to BCI disciplinary committee in certain circumstances after fairly dealing with such matters as per Sec. 6(1)(c).
Sec. 7(1)(g) to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils	BCI must conduct the supervision of the state bar councils are regular intervals.	State bar councils must co-operate such supervisions conducted by BCI.
Sec, 7(1)(h) to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils	Bar councils are established for the growth of the legal profession. For this legal education is necessary and BCI should lay down standards for such legal education. Universities imparting law education and state bar councils can suggest such standards.	The State bar council can suggest the standard of legal education imparted by universities for the academic growth of the profession. Also, it is the responsibility of state bar councils to implement such standards in universities under their respective jurisdictions.
Sec. 7(1)(i) to recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect Universities or cause the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with such directions as it may give in this behalf;	These inspections of universities are necessary to maintain the standard of the profession. BCI can direct state bar councils to conduct such inspections.	State bar councils must perform the inspections of universities with the guidance and directions of the BCI to maintain the standards of legal education imparted by the universities.
Sec. 7(3) The Bar Council of India 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.	Sole responsibility of BCI	Not applicable.

So these are the functions and responsibilities of the BCI and state bar councils for the welfare and protection of advocates, academic growth of the profession, the spread of legal awareness, and promotion of legal knowledge to the date.

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.

Establishment of State Bar Councils in India: Section 3 of Advocates' Act 1961

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

State Bar Council:

Introduction:

Advocates’ Act 1961 governs the legal profession in India and for the association purpose of all the legal practitioners the Act provides for the constitution of the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils across the territory of India. There are about 21 State Bar Councils in India that are working for the betterment of advocates in their respective jurisdictions.

S R Das committee i.e. All India Bar Committee headed by S R Das through the report of March 1953 proposed for the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body. It was suggested that the all-India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education.

The State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961. These are the statutory bodies for all the states and union territories of India. They regulate the rules for the legal profession and education in their respective states and also act as the representatives of the advocates of that state, thereby acting in their interests. Further Section 6 provides for the functions of State Bar Council, Section 15 provides for the powers of a Bar Council.

3. State Bar Councils.―(1) There shall be a Bar Council—

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

(b) for the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland to be known as the Bar Council of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland;

(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 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.

(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;

(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).

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

So according to Section 3 following are the State Bar councils constituted in India and whose members are as follows:

Sr. No.	Name of State Bar Council	Jurisdiction	Members of the Bar Council
1.	State Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh	State of Andhra Pradesh	Advocate General of the State of Andhra Pradesh, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
2.	Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipura, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim	States of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipura, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim	Advocate Generals of States of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipura, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim ex-offcio Elected members: 18
3.	Bar Council of Bihar	State of Bihar	Advocate General of the State of Bihar, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
4.	Bar Council of Chhattisgarh	State of Chhattisgarh	Advocate General of the State of Chhattisgarh, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
5.	Bar Council Of Delhi	Union Territory of Delhi	Additional Solicitor-General of India, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
6.	Bar Council of Gujarat	State of Gujarat	Advocate General of the State of Gujarat, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
7.	Bar Council Of Himachal Pradesh	State of Himachal Pradesh	Advocate General of the State of Himachal Pradesh, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
8.	Jharkhand State Bar Council	State of Jharkhand	Advocate General of the State of Jharkhand, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
9.	Bar Council of Karnataka	State of Karnataka	Advocate General of the State of Karnataka, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
10.	Bar Council Of Kerala	State of Kerala, Union Territory of Lakshadweep	Advocate General of the State of Kerala, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
11.	Bar Council Of Madhya Pradesh	State of Madhya Pradesh	Advocate General of the State of Madhya Pradesh, ex-offcio Elected members: 26
12.	Bar Council Of Maharashtra & Goa	States of Maharashtra & Goa, Union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu	Advocate General of the States of Maharashtra & Goa, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
13.	Odisha State Bar Council	State of Odisha	Advocate General of the State of Odisha, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
14.	Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana	States of Punjab & Haryana, Union Territory of Chandigarh	Advocate General of the States of Punjab & Haryana, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
15.	Bar Council of Rajasthan	State of Rajasthan	Advocate General of the State of Rajasthan, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
16.	Bar Council of Tamil Nadu	State of Tamil Nadu and the Union territory of Pondicherry	Advocate General of the State of Tamil Nadu, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
17.	Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh	State of Uttar Pradesh	Advocate General of the State of Uttar Pradesh, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
18.	Bar Council Of Uttarakhand	State of Uttarakhand	Advocate General of the State of Uttarakhand, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
19.	Bar Council Of West Bengal	State of West Bengal and Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Advocate General of the State of West Bengal, ex-offcio Elected members: 25
20.	Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir; and Ladakh	Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh	Advocate-General of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, ex-offcio Elected members: 25

21.

Bar Council of Telangana

State of Telangana

Advocate-General of Union territory of Telangana, ex-offcio Elected members: 25

So these are the various State Bar Councils established in various states of India.

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.