Advocate verification rule in India 2023

Ø In 2015 the bar council of India notified the BCI certificate and place of practice (verification) rules 2015 to identify genuine lawyers who are actively litigating before courts and tribunals. The rule was challenged before various high courts and the cases were ultimately transferred to the Supreme Court.

Ø The court passed the present order in an application filed by an advocate practicing in the supreme court challenging the BCI direction issued in November 2022 to the state bar councils which, the petitioner claimed, had the effect of interdicting the verification process being undertaken by the state bar council to scrutinize.

Ø BCI chairman senior advocate Manan kumar Mishra told the bench that intention was not to stop verification but to ensure that verification was not done without verifying the validity and genuineness of degree certificates. Difficulties were encountered when universities demanded fees to verify degree certificates. Against this backdrop, the BCI suggested the constitution of a high-powered committee to oversee the verification of degrees.

Ø The bench also noted that the number of advocates, which stood at 16 lakhs at the material time, is clemently estimated to be around 25.70 lakhs per BCI statement, out of 25.70 lakhs advocates about 7.55 lakhs forms were received for verification and 1.99 lakhs declaration were received from senior advocates and advocates on record. Thus the total number of forms received is around 9.22 lakhs. From these figures, the bench inferred that the majority of advocates enrolled with the state bar council have not submitted their verification forms.

Ø BCI raised the apprehension that many lawyers who have not given the verification forms are not qualified to practice law and many are there for extraneous purposes and that such persons have to be identified and be weeded out.

Ø A bench comprising chief justice of India DY Chnadrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala passed this order after taking note of the roadblocks in the process of verification of advocates. The committee has been asked to start work on a convenient date and to file a status report by August 31.

Ø Besides justice gupta, the committee will comprise retired Aliabad high court judge, Justice Arun Tandon, former Delhi High court chief justice Rajendra Menon, senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Maninder Singh, and three members to be nominated by the BCI.

Ø Due verification of advocates registered with the state bar council is of utmost importance to safeguard and integrity of the administration of justice, the bench observed in the order.

Ø It is the duty of every genuine advocate of the country to ensure that they cooperate with the bar council of India in seeking to ensure the certificates of practice are duly together with the underlying education degree certificates. Unless this exercise is carried out periodically, there is a great danger that the administration of justice would itself be under a serious cloud, the bench added in the order. The bench noted with concern the statement of the bar council; of India that lawyers without verification have become members of some state bar counsels and that such persons may also have judicial officers posts too.

Ø The bench asserted that access to the judicial process cannot be granted to persons who profess to be lawyers but do not have genuine educational qualifications or degree certificates.

Ø Taking note of the difficulty encountered by the verification process due to the charges sought by the universities in verifying the degree certificates, the bench directed that all universities & exam boards should verify the genuineness of degrees without charging fees.