Report No. 266
Chapter -XI
Advocacy lurking in the shadows
11.1 As per recent media reports35, the Bar Council of India conducted verification of advocates under the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, and it was reported that a very high percentage (33 to 45%) of lawyers were fake. Such lawyers were practicing either with the fake law degree or without any degree at all. The process of verification is not yet complete and the so-called bogus lawyers could be identified only by scrutiny. Apprehension has been raised that the alleged bogus lawyers could have succeeded in making entry in the judiciary, government services and some of them could have been appointed as Government pleaders, Law Officers, etc. Such persons might have succeeded in mission by impersonation and entering into criminal conspiracy. Thus legal advice offered by such persons could affect the deliverance and quality of justice and their mere existence in legal system would definitely erode the public trust.
11.2 This is a crucial matter casting shadow on the nobility of the legal profession. As such, to establish the probity of advocacy, it requires a thorough scrutiny and verification. Towards this end, the Law Commission recommends a specific rule making power for Bar Council of India to make rules for verification of certificates of Advocates and for periodical verification of antecedents, conduct, place of practice of Advocates; and to make a data based web-portal of all the advocates.
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