Summary
A practising advocate challenged under Article 32 a Bar Council of India office order of 1 November 2022 directing State Bar Councils not to proceed with verification of advocates under the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, and questioned the method of co-opting members to fill casual vacancies. Noting that only about 9.22 lakh of 20.57 lakh enrolled advocates had submitted verification forms or declarations, that persons with fake degrees gravely endanger the administration of justice, and the Bar Council's clarification that the order only required verification of underlying degree certificates, the Supreme Court constituted a High Powered Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Court to monitor verification of degree and enrolment certificates, directed universities to verify certificates without fee, and called for a status report.
Issues
- Whether the Bar Council of India's office order dated 1 November 2022 halted the verification of advocates enrolled with State Bar Councils, and what mechanism should be put in place to ensure due verification of advocates' degree and enrolment certificates.
Provisions considered
- Article 32, Constitution of IndiaThe writ petition invoked the Court's original jurisdiction to challenge the Bar Council of India's office order and the method of co-option to State Bar Councils; the Court issued directions constituting a monitoring committee. (¶¶ 1, 13, 14)
- Verification of certificates and place of practice, Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015Verification under these Rules, earlier monitored by a committee of the Bar Council of India, must cover both educational degree certificates and enrolment certificates and is now to be monitored by the Court-appointed committee, with State Bar Councils bound to comply with its directions. (¶¶ 3, 5, 11, 12, 15)
Held
- Due verification of advocates enrolled with State Bar Councils is of utmost importance to preserve the integrity of the administration of justice; persons professing to be lawyers without the requisite educational qualifications or degree certificates pose a grave danger, and every genuine advocate must cooperate with the Bar Council of India in verifying certificates of practice together with the underlying degree certificates. (¶¶ 9, 10)
- The office order of 1 November 2022 did not direct cessation of verification but, as clarified by the Chairperson of the Bar Council of India, sought to ensure that verification was not carried out merely on the basis of certificates of practice issued by a State Bar Council without verifying the genuineness and validity of degree certificates. (¶¶ 11, 12)
- Given the impact of fake degree holders on the administration of justice, a High Powered Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court, with two former High Court Judges, two senior advocates and three nominees of the Bar Council of India, is constituted to monitor and issue guidelines for verification of both degree and enrolment certificates; all State Bar Councils shall comply and report, universities and examination boards shall verify certificates without charging any fee, and the order does not by itself extend the existing terms of the Bar Councils. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
Result
Directions issued: High Powered Committee constituted to monitor verification of advocates' degree and enrolment certificates, with the Secretary of the Bar Council of India as nodal officer; universities and examination boards to verify certificates without fee and without undue delay; status report to be filed by 31 August 2023; the order not to be construed as extending the existing terms of the Bar Councils.