BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under the section 4
of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in
India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such
represents the Indian bar. It prescribes standards of professional
conduct, etiquettes and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar. It also sets
standards for legal education and grants recognition to universities whose degree
in law will serve as a qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates
upon graduation.

Bar Council of India - Historical Background

At its annual conference in Madras, the Inter-University Board issued a

resolution emphasizing the necessity for an all-India Bar and the importance of
having uniformly high standards for legal examinations in different universities
across the country, given the establishment of the Supreme Court of India.

The Madras Provincial Lawyers Conference presided over by Shri S.

Varadachariar, decided in May 1950 that the Government of India should appoint
a committee to develop a strategy for an all-India Bar and alter the Indian Bar
Councils Act to bring it into compliance with the new Constitution.

The Madras Bar Council adopted that decision during its sitting on October
1, 1950. On March 30, 1953, the All India Bar Committee issued its
comprehensive report.

It recommended that each state form a Bar Council, with a national All-
India Bar Council serving as the apex authority for regulating the legal profession
and overseeing the quality of legal education in India.

The Advocates Act was enacted in 1961 to carry out the recommendations
of the 'All India Bar Committee' and the 'Law Commission.' The initial chairman
and vice chairman were M. C. Setalvad and C. K. Daphtary, respectively.
Bar Council Of India - Statutory Provisions

The Indian Bar Council is a statutory body established by Parliament to

regulate and represent the Indian legal profession. It was founded in 1961 under
Section 4 of the Advocates Act.

It regulates the bar by establishing norms of professional conduct and

etiquette and exercising disciplinary authority over the members.

Concerned Ministry: The Ministry of Law and Justice is responsible for the
Bar Council of India.

Every Bar Council so constituted shall be a body corporate having perpetual

succession and a common seal with power to acquire and hold property, both
movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the name of the Bar
Council of the High Court for which it has been constituted sue and be sued.

Meeting of Bar Council of India: Meetings are held regularly to ensure the
smooth functioning of BCI.

Bar Council Of India – Composition

Each Bar Council shall have a Chairman and Vice-Chairman elected by the
Council in the manner prescribed by law.

The Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India who are ex
officio members.

Every Bar Council shall consist of 15 members:

 One shall be the Advocate-General;
 Four shall be those nominated by the High Court, not more than two of
whom may be High Court Judges; and
 Ten shall be elected by the High Court's advocates from among their
number.
  Eligibility: Not less than five elected members of each Bar Council must
have been entitled to practice in the High Court for which the Bar Council
was formed for at least ten years.

Tenure of Chairperson and Members of Council

The nominated and elected members of any such Bar Council shall serve for
three years from the date of the Council's first meeting. No member of the Bar
Council of India has the right to withdraw from membership for reasons that are
not regarded genuine or for the purpose of sharing the terms set forth in the
Statute.

Disqualification of the Members of the Bar Council of India

An elected member of a Bar Council is deemed to have vacated his office if

he is declared by the Bar Council of which he is a member to have missed three
consecutive meetings of that Council without sufficient excuse, or if his name is
removed from the roll of advocates for any reason, or if he is otherwise
disqualified under any rule made by the Bar Council of India.

Election to Bar Councils

No election to a Bar Council member shall be called into dispute just

because due notice of the date has not been given to any individual eligible to
vote, if notice of the date has been published in the Official Gazette at least thirty
days before to that date.

Bar Council of India – Functions

 To establish guidelines for advocates' professional conduct and decorum.

 To establish a mechanism for its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary
committees of each state bar council to follow.
 To protect advocates' rights, privileges, and interests.
 To encourage and assist the reform of the legal system.
 To deal with and resolve any problem that a State Bar Council may refer to
it.
  To promote legal education and establish legal education standards. This is
done in collaboration with Indian universities that offer legal education as
well as state bar councils.
 To recognize universities that offers a law degree as a prerequisite for
becoming an advocate. The Bar Council of India inspects and visits
universities, or directs the State Bar Councils to do so.
 Seminars and discussions on legal themes by famous jurists will be held,
and journals and papers of legal relevance will be published.
 To organize poor people's legal aid.
 Recognize foreign legal qualifications gained outside of India for the
purpose of admission as an advocate in India on a reciprocal basis.
 To manage and invest the Bar Council's funds.
 To make provisions for the election of persons who will lead the Bar
Councils.
 The Bar Council of India can also set up funds for the following purposes:
providing financial support for welfare initiatives for the destitute, disabled,
and other advocates, providing legal aid, and establishing law libraries.
 For any of these reasons, the Bar Council of India can receive grants,
donations, and gifts.

Bar Council of India - Associated Powers

 Power of Bar Council to make bye-laws: The Bar Council may make bye-
laws consistent with this Act and any rules made there under to provide for
any of the following matters, namely:
 The appointment of such ministerial officers and servants as the Bar
Council may think essential, as well as their pay, allowances, and other
working conditions; and
 The appointment and organization of Council Committees, their
procedures, and the determination of the Council's powers and functions
that may be delegated to such Committees.
 The Bar Council may create rules to govern the admission of persons to be
advocates of the High Court, with the prior approval of the High Court;
provided, however, that such regulations shall not limit or in any way
influence the High Court's discretionary jurisdiction to reject admission to
any person.
  No woman shall be barred from becoming an advocate solely because of
her gender.
 The summoning and holding of Bar Council meetings, the conduct of
business threats, and the number of members required to form a quorum;
 The constitution and functions of any Bar Council committee, as well as the
term of office of members of any such committee;
 The Bar Council's responsibility for keeping books of accounts and other
records;
 Appointment of auditors and auditing of the Bar Council's accounts;
 The management and investment of the Bar Council's money.

Committee Of Bar Council Of India

 The Bar Council of India has various committees which make

recommendations to the council. The members of these committees are
elected from amongst the members of the Council.
 Executive Committee: The executive committee is in charge of fund
management, personnel matters, accounts, work allocation, council affairs
management, audit, library, and legal publications. Work delegated.
 Legal Education Committee: This committee makes recommendations to
the BCI on legal education issues, establishes legal education standards,
visits and inspects colleges, recommends pre-requisites for foreign
advocates practising law in India, and recommends recognition or
discontinuation of a university's law degree.
 Disciplinary Committee: This committee considers appeals from the state
bar councils' summary dismissal of charges against advocates for
professional misconduct, as well as appeals from the state bar councils'
disciplinary committees' orders.
 Advocate Welfare Association: This committee investigates welfare fund
petitions submitted by advocates. It checks the application and approves
the funding. The Advocates Welfare Fund Act of 2001 certifies the
Advocates Welfare Committee.
 Legal Aid Committee: It assists persons who require legal assistance.
 Building Committee: The Building Committee is in charge of establishing the
Council's offices.
 Rules Committee: The Rules Committee is in charge of reviewing the
Council's rules and regulations.
  The Finance Committee, Special or Oversee Committee, and All India Bar
Examination Committee are the other committees.

Conclusion

The Bar Council of India possesses numerous capacities, that it can use to
reconstruct and reinterpret the entire legal sector in India. Indeed, it may be all
the more strongly imagined that it has contributed nothing to the advancement
of law in India in recent years. Although there have been discussions about
increasing BCI's power to ensure a more effective command of the law as a
profession, the Bar Council of India is working efficiently.

Present Members of the Bar Council of India

Name of the Member

(Shri / Smt) Positiion

Manan Kumar Mishra Chairman, Bar Council of India

Satish Abarao Deshmukh Executive Committee

S.Prabakaran Senior Advocate Vice-Chairman , Bar Council of India

D.P. Dhal Managing Trustee, BCI Trust

Suresh Chandra Shrimali Co Chairman

K. K. Venugopal Attorney General of India, ex-officio member

Tushar Mehata Solicitor General of India ex-officio member

Shailendra Dubey Member

Sadhashiva Reddy Co Chairman

Ved Prakash Sharma Co Chairman

Apurva kumar Sharma Chairman, Executive Committee

N. Manoj Kumar Member, Vice Chairman, Executive Committee

Ramireddy , Member

Prashant Kumar Member

Dilip Patel Member

Deshraj Sharma Member

Partap Singh Member

Vishnuvardhan Reddy Member

Srinath Tripati Member

Sunil Gupta Member

Ashok Dev Member