State Bar Council: Powers and Functions under the Advocates Act, 1961

Within this framework, State Bar Councils perform important regulatory, representative, disciplinary and welfare functions. They admit eligible persons as advocates, maintain State rolls, safeguard the interests of advocates and exercise disciplinary jurisdiction through their disciplinary committees.

Constitution of State Bar Councils: Section 3

Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961 provides for the constitution of State Bar Councils. The statutory scheme includes Bar Councils constituted for individual States as well as certain Bar Councils having jurisdiction over more than one State or Union Territory.

Composition of State Bar Councils

Under Section 3(2), a State Bar Council consists of the relevant ex officio member or members specified by the Act and elected members.

The elected members are chosen from amongst advocates on the electoral roll of the State Bar Council through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

The number of elected members depends upon the number of advocates on the electoral roll:

Number of advocates on electoral roll	Elected members
Not exceeding 5,000	15
Exceeding 5,000 but not exceeding 10,000	20
Exceeding 10,000	25

The Act also contains requirements concerning representation of advocates with the prescribed standing at the Bar.

Chairman and Vice-Chairman

Under Section 3(3), every State Bar Council has a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, elected by the Council in the prescribed manner.

Term of Office: Sections 8 and 8A

Under Section 8, the term of office of an elected member of a State Bar Council is five years from the date of publication of the result of his election.

Where a State Bar Council fails to provide for the election of its members before the expiry of the term, Section 8A provides for the constitution of a Special Committee by the Bar Council of India. The Special Committee is entrusted with discharging the functions of the State Bar Council until the Council is duly constituted in accordance with the Act.

State Bar Council as a Body Corporate: Section 5

Under Section 5, every Bar Council is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal.

It has the power to acquire and hold movable and immovable property, enter into contracts, and sue and be sued in the name by which it is known.

This gives a State Bar Council a legal personality separate from its individual members.

Functions of State Bar Councils: Section 6

Section 6 is the principal provision defining the statutory functions of State Bar Councils.

Admission of Persons as Advocates

A State Bar Council is responsible to admit persons as advocates on its roll.

The power of enrolment is exercised in accordance with the qualifications, disqualifications and procedure prescribed under the Advocates Act and the applicable rules.

Preparation and Maintenance of State Roll

A State Bar Council must prepare and maintain the roll of advocates enrolled with it.

The State roll is therefore the statutory record of advocates enrolled with the concerned State Bar Council.

Disciplinary Control over Advocates

A State Bar Council is required to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll.

The detailed disciplinary mechanism is contained principally in Section 35 and related provisions of the Advocates Act.

Safeguarding Advocates’ Rights and Interests

The State Bar Council has the statutory responsibility to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll.

The Council therefore performs not only a regulatory function but also a representative role in relation to advocates enrolled with it.

Promotion of Bar Associations

A State Bar Council is empowered to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effectively implementing the welfare schemes referred to in Section 6(2).

Promotion and Support of Law Reform

Another express function of the State Bar Council is to promote and support law reform.

Seminars, Legal Talks and Publications

The State Bar Council may conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest.

This recognises the Council’s role in encouraging professional and legal development.

References Made by the Bar Council of India

The State Bar Council is also required to deal with and dispose of any matter arising on a reference made to it by the Bar Council of India.

Legal Aid

A State Bar Council has the function to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner.

Management and Investment of Funds

The Council is responsible to manage and invest its funds.

Election of Members

A State Bar Council is required to provide for the election of its members in accordance with the Act and applicable rules.

University Visits and Inspections

Section 6 also assigns State Bar Councils a role concerning visiting and inspecting universities in accordance with the directions given under Section 7(1)(i) and submitting the requisite reports to the Bar Council of India.

Other Statutory Functions

The State Bar Council must perform all other functions conferred on it by or under the Advocates Act and do all other things necessary for discharging those functions.

Welfare Funds under Section 6

Under Section 6(2), a State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for specified purposes, including:

• giving financial assistance for organising welfare schemes for indigent, disabled or other advocates;
• giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in that behalf; and
• establishing law libraries.

For these purposes, the State Bar Council may receive grants, donations, gifts or benefactions, which are required to be credited to the appropriate fund constituted under the Act.

Committees of a State Bar Council

The Advocates Act provides for specialised committees to enable Bar Councils to discharge their statutory responsibilities.

Disciplinary Committees: Section 9

Under Section 9, a Bar Council constitutes one or more Disciplinary Committees. Each committee consists of three persons. Two are elected by the Council from amongst its members, while the third is co-opted by the Council from amongst advocates who possess the qualifications specified by the statutory provision and who are not members of the Council.

The senior-most advocate amongst the members of the Disciplinary Committee acts as its Chairman.

Legal Aid Committees: Section 9A

Under Section 9A, a Bar Council may constitute one or more Legal Aid Committees. Each such committee consists of the number of members prescribed by the provision and rules, possessing the prescribed qualifications.

Executive and Enrolment Committees: Section 10

Section 10 provides for committees other than disciplinary committees. A State Bar Council constitutes an Executive Committee and an Enrolment Committee from amongst its members.

The Enrolment Committee performs an important function in considering applications for admission as advocates. A State Bar Council may also constitute other committees from amongst its members as it considers necessary for carrying out the provisions of the Act.

Staff and Administration: Sections 11 and 12

Under Section 11, every Bar Council appoints a Secretary and may appoint an Accountant and such other members of staff as it considers necessary.

Section 12 deals with accounts and audit. Every Bar Council is required to maintain prescribed books of account and other books, and its accounts are subject to audit in accordance with the statutory requirements.

State Roll of Advocates: Section 17

Under Section 17, every State Bar Council must prepare and maintain a roll of advocates.

The roll is divided into two parts:

• the first part contains the names of senior advocates; and
• the second part contains the names of other advocates.

The Act also regulates the order of seniority in the State roll.

A person cannot be enrolled as an advocate on the roll of more than one State Bar Council.

Transfer from One State Roll to Another: Section 18

Section 18 permits an advocate whose name is entered on a State roll to apply to the Bar Council of India for transfer of his or her name from the roll of one State Bar Council to another.

Thus, although State Bar Councils maintain their respective rolls, the statutory power to order an inter-State transfer of an advocate’s name is vested in the Bar Council of India.

Certificate of Enrolment: Section 22

Under Section 22, a State Bar Council issues a certificate of enrolment in the prescribed form to every person whose name is entered in the roll of advocates maintained by it.

Qualifications for Enrolment: Section 24

Section 24 prescribes the statutory qualifications for admission as an advocate on a State roll.

Subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, the provision deals with requirements relating to, among other things:

• citizenship;
• minimum age of 21 years;
• the prescribed legal qualification;
• fulfilment of other conditions specified under the applicable rules; and
• payment of the enrolment fee and stamp duty, if any, prescribed by the statutory provision.

Section 24 also contains provisions concerning admission of nationals of other countries on the basis of reciprocity.

Enrolment Fee and Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India

Section 24(1)(f) prescribes the enrolment fee payable for admission as an advocate. In Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 558, the Supreme Court held that State Bar Councils cannot charge enrolment fees beyond the amount prescribed by Section 24(1)(f).

The Court further held that the State Bar Councils and the Bar Council of India cannot demand payment of fees other than the stipulated enrolment fee and stamp duty, if any, as a precondition for enrolment.

The Supreme Court, however, clarified that its decision would have prospective effect.

Disqualification for Enrolment: Section 24A

Section 24A prescribes circumstances in which a person is disqualified from being admitted as an advocate on a State roll.

These include specified convictions involving moral turpitude, conviction for an offence under the law referred to in the provision relating to untouchability, and dismissal or removal from employment or office under the State on a charge involving moral turpitude.

The section itself prescribes the duration and exceptions applicable to these disqualifications. Accordingly, the provision must be read as a whole while determining whether a particular person is eligible for enrolment.

Applications for Enrolment: Sections 25 and 26

Section 25 determines the authority to which an application for admission as an advocate must be made. Applications are dealt with in accordance with the statutory allocation of jurisdiction under that provision and the applicable rules.

Under Section 26, a State Bar Council refers applications for admission as advocates to its Enrolment Committee, which disposes of them in the prescribed manner.

Where the Enrolment Committee proposes to refuse an application, the statutory procedure involving reference to the Bar Council of India must be followed, and the application is thereafter disposed of in conformity with the BCI’s opinion.

Application after Refusal by Another State Bar Council: Section 27

Under Section 27, where an application for admission as an advocate has been refused by one State Bar Council, another State Bar Council cannot entertain an application for admission by that person except in the circumstances permitted by the provision and with the requisite consent of the Bar Council of India.

Removal of Names from State Roll: Section 26A

Under Section 26A, a State Bar Council may remove from the State roll the name of an advocate who is dead or from whom a request has been received to that effect.

The provision therefore enables the State roll to be kept updated in accordance with the circumstances contemplated by the Act.

Punishment of advocates for misconduct: Section 35

One of the most important regulatory responsibilities of a State Bar Council concerns professional or other misconduct by advocates.

Under Section 35(1), where, on receipt of a complaint or otherwise, a State Bar Council has reason to believe that an advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct, it refers the case for disposal to its Disciplinary Committee.

Thus, the disciplinary proceedings are ultimately heard and determined by the statutory Disciplinary Committee.

Orders in Disciplinary Proceedings

After fixing a date for hearing and giving the notices required by Section 35, the Disciplinary Committee may make any of the orders specified in Section 35(3).

It may:

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

2. reprimand the advocate;

3. suspend the advocate from practice for such period as it considers fit; or

4. remove the name of the advocate from the State roll.

Where an advocate is suspended from practice under the provision, the advocate is debarred during the period of suspension from practising in any court or before any authority or person in India.

Transfer of Disciplinary Proceedings: Section 36

Under Section 36, the Bar Council of India possesses disciplinary powers in the circumstances specified by the Act.

It may withdraw for inquiry before itself disciplinary proceedings pending before the Disciplinary Committee of a State Bar Council, either on its own motion, on a report by a State Bar Council, or on an application made to it by an interested person.

Time Limit for Disciplinary Proceedings: Section 36B

Under Section 36B, the Disciplinary Committee of a State Bar Council is required to dispose of a complaint received by it under Section 35 expeditiously.

Where proceedings are not concluded within the statutory period of one year, they stand transferred to the Bar Council of India for disposal.

Appeal to the Bar Council of India: Section 37

A person aggrieved by an order of the Disciplinary Committee of a State Bar Council made under Section 35, or the Advocate-General of the State, may prefer an appeal to the Bar Council of India within 60 days of communication of the order.

The BCI’s Disciplinary Committee may pass such order on the appeal as it deems fit in accordance with the Act.

Appeal to the Supreme Court: Section 38

A person aggrieved by an order made by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of India under the provisions specified in Section 38, or the Attorney-General for India or Advocate-General of the State concerned, may appeal to the Supreme Court within 60 days of communication of the order.

The disciplinary structure under the Act therefore provides successive statutory remedies against disciplinary orders.

Powers of Disciplinary Committee: Section 42

Under Section 42, a Disciplinary Committee of a Bar Council possesses powers similar to those vested in a civil court in respect of specified matters, including:

• summoning and enforcing attendance of persons and examining them on oath;
• requiring discovery and production of documents;
• receiving evidence on affidavits;
• requisitioning public records or copies thereof from courts or offices;
• issuing commissions for examination of witnesses or documents; and
• other prescribed matters.

Section 42 also gives proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee the statutory character specified in the provision.

Review of Disciplinary Orders: Section 44

Under Section 44, the Disciplinary Committee of a Bar Council may, on its own motion or otherwise, review an order within 60 days from the date of that order.

However, an order of review made by the Disciplinary Committee of a State Bar Council does not take effect unless it has been approved by the Bar Council of India.

This qualification is important when describing the State Bar Council’s power of review.

Rule-Making Power: Section 15

Section 15 empowers a Bar Council to make rules to carry out the purposes of the Chapter dealing with Bar Councils.

The rule-making power covers matters specified in the section, including matters concerning elections, election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, filling of casual vacancies, meetings and conduct of business, committees, staff and maintenance of accounts.

The rules are subject to the statutory framework governing their approval and operation.

Rules Relating to Enrolment: Section 28

Section 28 specifically empowers a State Bar Council to make rules to carry out the purposes of the Chapter concerning admission and enrolment of advocates.

The provision authorises rules concerning matters such as:

• the form in which an application for admission as an advocate is to be made;
• the manner in which applications are to be disposed of by the Enrolment Committee; and
• conditions subject to which a person may be admitted as an advocate on a State roll.

Rules made by a State Bar Council under Section 28 require the approval contemplated by the Advocates Act.

Relationship between State Bar Councils and the Bar Council of India

State Bar Councils work under the general supervision of the Bar Council of India. The BCI: