STATE BAR COUNCIL

The State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961.
These were set up as different councils for the states and union territories of India. They act as
regulatory bodies, making 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.
Section 6 of the Advocates Act, 1961 also lays out the functions to be performed by the State
Councils in their respective states. They work in coordination with and under the supervision of the
Bar Council of India, which is a national body established under Section 4 of the Advocates Act, 1961.
[1]

ESTABLISHMENT

The history of Bar Councils goes back to the British era when on the recommendations of
the Chamier Committee and through the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926, Bar Councils were
established for the then High Courts. But these Councils only worked in an advisory capacity under
the magistrates of the respective courts.

The need for an all-India Bar Council was felt right after the Constitution came into enforcement, and
in the annual meeting of the Inter-University Board at Madras, a resolution was passed stating that
an all-India bar be established, and that uniformity should be present across the universities of the
country while conducting law examinations.

The formation of the Bar Council of India was a result of a report submitted by the ‘All India Bar
Committee’, which was headed by S. R. Das. The report proposed the establishment of a bar council
for every state as well as a central bar council. The Law Commission was then asked to submit a
report on the judicial reforms needed in order to introduce bar councils in the country at both levels,
as well as reform the system of justice and equity in the country. Later, in 1961, the Advocates Act
was introduced which implemented the reforms suggested by the All India Bar Committee as well as
the Law Commission, and the Bar Council of India as well as those of the states came into existence
establishing the State Bar Councils along with the Bar Council of India in 1961. Although, State Bar
Councils for all states were not established in 1961 itself, the 1961 Act was only established them for
a few states. Some of them were added by later amendments to the same Act and with the creation
of new s tates such as Uttarakhand and Telangana, their Bar Councils were also established later.
And for the Union Territories, with the exception of the Union Territory of Delhi, no State Bar
Councils were separately established

The Advocates Act, 1961

Section 3 of the Advocates Act establishes the State Bar Councils for the States and Union Territories
mentioned in the Section 3 (1), while Section 3 (2), defines the membership of these state councils.
The later sub-clauses define the chairmanship, vice chairmanship, the grounds for disqualification
and other related matters.[3]

Section 7 of the Act elaborates upon the functions that are to be performed by the State Bar
Councils and the funds that are constituted by it for various purposes. This is discussed in detail
below –