A PROJECT REPORT ON: BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA: - A

BODY CORPORATE

PROJECT SUBMITTED TO:

Dr. DEEPAK DAS

PROJECT SUBMITTED BY:

(SEMESTER X)

ROLL NO.153

SECTION-A

SUBMITTED ON: 08.04.2019

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel highly elated to work on the topic “BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA: - A BODY CORPORATE” the
practical realization of this project has obligated the assistance of many persons. I express my deepest
regard and gratitude to my teachers for their unstinted support. Their consistent supervision, constant
inspiration and invaluable guidance have been of immense help in understanding and carrying out the
nuances of the project report.

I would like to thank my family and friends without whose support and encouragement, this project
would not have been a reality. I take this opportunity to also thank the University and the Vice Chancellor
for providing extensive database resources in the Library and through Internet.

My gratitude also goes out to the staff and administration of HNLU for the infrastructure in the form of
our library and IT Lab that was a source of great help for the completion of this project

Some printing errors might have crept in, which are deeply regretted. I would be grateful to receive
comments and suggestions to further improve this project report.

Shoaib Alvi

Roll No. 153

Section A

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 CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………..………………………………………………...…02

CHAPTER 1:- INTRODUCTION...........................................................................……..04-06

 OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………….....……………..……06
 NATURE OF STUDY AND SOURCES OF
DATA……………….………………………............................................…………...…06

CHAPTER 2:- BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA A BODY

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………...........…………………11

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 CHAPTER 1:- INTRODUCTION
HISTORY

After the Constitution of India was established on January 26, 1950, the Inter-University Board
passed a resolution emphasizing the need for an all-India Bar and the importance of uniformly
high standards for law examinations in different Universities. In May 1950, the Madras
Provincial Lawyers Conference, held under the presidency of Shri S. Varadachariar, resolved
that a committee appointed by the Government of India should evolve a scheme for an all-India
Bar and amend the Indian Bar Councils Act such that it conforms to the new Constitution. On
April 12, 1951, Shri Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, a Member of Parliament, proposed a bill
to amend the India Bar Councils Act. The Government of India concluded that it was necessary
for the Government to sponsor the Bill. In August 1951, a Committee of Inquiry was set up to
consider the feasibility of a unified Bar in India, the continuance or abolition of the dual system
of counsel for each state, possibility of a separate Bar Council for the Supreme Court and the
revision of enactments related to the legal profession

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.

In March 1953, the 'All India Bar Committee', headed by S. R. Das, submitted a report which
proposed 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 Law Commission of India was assigned the job of assembling a
report on judicial administration reforms. In 1961, the Advocates Act was introduced to
implement the recommendations made by the 'All India Bar Committee' and 'Law
Commission'. M. C. Setalvad and C. K. Daphtary were the first chairman and vice chairman
respectively.

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As per the Advocates Act, the Bar Council of India consists of members elected from each state
bar council, and the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India who are ex
officio members. The members from the state bar councils are elected for a period of five years.

The council elects its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman for a period of two years from amongst
its members. Assisted by the various committees of the Council, the chairman acts as the chief
executive and director of the Council.

STRUCTURE OF THE BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

The Bar Council of India consists of 18 Members. The Attorney General of India and the
Solicitor General of India are Ex-officio Members of the council and the other 16 Members
represent the 16 State Bar Councils in the country. The Members are elected for a period of five
years and the Chairman and vice -Chairman are elected for a period of two years from among the
Members of the Bar Council of India. The Bar Council further consists of various committees
viz., Legal Education Committee, Disciplinary Committee, Executive Committee, Legal Aid
Committee, Advocates Welfare Fund Committee, Rules Committee and various other
Committees formed to look into specific issues arising from time to time.1

ENROLLMENT OF ADVOCATES

Eligible persons having a recognized law degree are admitted as advocates on the rolls of the
state bar Councils. The Advocates Act, 1961 empowers state bar councils to frame their own
rules regarding enrollment of advocates. The Council’s enrollment committee may scrutinize a
candidate’s application. Those admitted as advocates by any state bar council are eligible to take
the All India Bar Examination which is conducted by the Bar Council of India. Passing the All
India Bar Examination awards the state-enrolled advocate with a 'Certificate of Enrolment' which
enables the state-enrolled advocate to practice law as an advocate in any High Court and lower
court within the territory of India. However to practice Law before the Supreme Court of India,
Advocates must first appear for and qualify in the Supreme Court Advocate on Record
Examination conducted by the Supreme Court.

1
https://www.scribd.com/document/342369989/legal-methods-project-on-bar-council-of-india-and-it-s-function-in-
legal-education-in-india-copy, Last visited on 1st April 2019

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OBJECTIVES-

 To study Bar Council of India as a body Corporate under Section 5 of Advocates

NATURE OF STUDY AND SOURCES OF DATA

This research project is qualitative analytical and descriptive in nature. It is largely based on
secondary & electronic sources of data books & other references. The original sources of law
such as Statues, Case laws and Law Commission Reports.

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 CHAPTER-2 BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA A BODY CORPORATE

The Bar Council of India was established by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961 to
regulate and represent the Indian bar. BCI performs the regulatory function by prescribing
standards of professional conduct and etiquette and by exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over
the bar. BCI also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose
degree in law will serve as qualification for enrolment as an advocate.

“Every Bar Council 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 may
by the name by which it is known sue and be sued.”2

Body corporate broadly means a corporate entity which has a legal existence.

The term "body corporate" is defined in Section 2(11) of the Companies Act, 2013. This includes
a private company, public company, one personal company, small company, Limited Liability
Partnerships, foreign company etc.

“Body corporate” or “corporation” also includes a company incorporated outside India.

However, body corporate does not include—

(i) A co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies; and

(ii) Any other body corporate (not being a company as defined in the Companies Act 2013),
which the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf;

According to Cambridge Dictionary a body corporate is “An organization such as

2
Section 5, Advocates Act, 1961

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Smt Deepika Bhat S vs. Union of India “The colleges imparting education in law are required
to be affiliated to the BCI, a statutory body corporate, constituted under the Advocates Act,
1961 (Hereinafter referred to as the '1961 Act', for brevity) . The BCI has made Rules on
standards of legal education and recognition of degrees in law for the purposes of enrolment as
advocates and for inspection of Universities for recognizing the degree in law, under Sections
7(1)(h),(i), 24(1)(c)(iii) and 49(1)(af), (ag)”

Further, the Supreme Court in the ruling of S.P. Mittal Etc. Etc vs. Union of India and Others
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also referred to the definition of corporation in Halsbury (Laws of England, 3rd Edn. Vol.9,
page 4) to summarize the major characteristics of a corporation as follows: i. a continuous
identity, i.e., the original member or members or his or their successors are one ii. The persons to
be incorporated; iii. The name by which the persons are incorporated; iv. a place and v. words
sufficient in law to show incorporation. In law, the individual incorporators are members of
which it is composed or something wholly different from the corporation itself, for a corporation
is a legal person just as much as an individual. A corporation aggregate can express its will by
deed under a common seal.

In this regard, one may refer to the Supreme Court’s ruling of The Board Of Trustees,
Ayurvedic vs. The State Of Delhi And Another4 “A body corporate has been defined as a
collection of individuals united into one body under a special denomination, having perpetual
succession under an artificial form, and vested by the policy of the law with the capacity of
acting in several respects as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, of
contracting obligations and of suing and being sued, of enjoying privileges and immunities in
common, and of exercising a variety of political rights, more or less extensive, according to the
design of its institution, or the powers conferred upon it, either at the time of its creation or at
any subsequent period of its existence.

3
1983 SCR (1) 729
4
1962 AIR 458

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 DUTIES OF BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body created by Parliament to regulate and represent the
Indian bar. We perform the regulatory function by prescribing standards of professional conduct
and etiquette and by exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar. We also set standards for
legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose degree in law will serve as
qualification for enrolment as an advocate.

In addition, we perform certain representative functions by protecting the rights, privileges and
interests of advocates and through the creation of funds for providing financial assistance to
organize welfare schemes for them.5

The Bar Council of India was established by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961. The
following statutory functions under Section 7 cover the Bar Council’s regulatory and
representative mandate for the legal profession and legal education in India:

1. To lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.

2. To lay down procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary
committees of each State Bar Council.

3. To safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.

4. To promote and support law reform.

5. To deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council.

6. To promote legal education and to lay down standards of legal education. This is done in
consultation with the Universities in India imparting legal education and the State Bar Councils.

5
http://indianbarassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/BAR-COUNCIL-OF-INDIA1.pdf, Last visited on 2nd
April 2019.

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7. To recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an
advocate. The Bar Council of India visits and inspects Universities, or directs the State Bar
Councils to visit and inspect Universities for this purpose.

8. To conduct seminars and talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and
papers of legal interest.

9. To organize legal aid to the poor.

10.To recognise on a reciprocal basis, the foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for
the purpose of admission as an advocate in India.

11. To manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council.

12.To provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.6

The Bar Council of India can also constitute funds for the following purposes:7

1. Giving financial assistance to organize welfare schemes for poor, disabled or other
advocates,

2. Giving legal aid, and

3. Establishing law libraries.

The Bar Council of India can also receive grants, donations, and gifts for any of these purposes.

6
http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/about/about-the-bar-council-of-india/, Last visited on 2nd April 2019.
7
http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/about/about-the-bar-council-of-india/, Last visited on 2nd April 2019.

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 CONCLUSION

The Bar Council of India was established by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961 to
regulate and represent the Indian bar. BCI performs the regulatory function by prescribing
standards of professional conduct and etiquette and by exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over
the bar. BCI also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose
degree in law will serve as qualification for enrolment as an advocate. These are all the main
functions of BCI under the Advocates Act. However, BCI also performs certain representative
functions by protecting the rights, privileges and interests of advocates and through the creation
of funds for providing financial assistance to organize welfare schemes for them under the
fundraising powers of the BCI which are embedded in its constituting documents.

A body corporate is defined under Section 2 (11) of the Companies Act, 2013 as

(11) "Body corporate" or "corporation" includes a company incorporated outside India, but does
not include—

(i) A co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies; and

(ii) Any other body corporate (not being a company as defined in this Act), which the Central
Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf;

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