Report No. 14
Appendix
The Training of Law Apprentices in The State of Madras1
Under the Rules of the Madras Bar Council, with certain exceptions, no person shall be entitled to be enrolled as an advocate of the Madras High Court unless he has studies for a period of one year as a pupil in the chambers of an advocate of not less than ten years' standing actually practising in the High Court or a District Court and passed an examination conducted by it. For sometime, the rules of the Bar Council permitted advocates of five years' standing to take pupils but as the changed position did not prove satisfactory the rule was again amended restoring the original position.
1. We are indebted to the Chairman and the Secretary of the Madras Bar Council for much of the information contained in this Note.
The rules make no provision for the payment of any premium to the master and it is understood that generally advocates do not charge any premium from their pupils though some years back, a few advocates used to insist on its payment. No advocate is permitted without the permission of the Bar Council to take more than two pupils to read in his chambers at one and the same time.
It is required by the rules that a pupil shall reside in the town where the office of his master is situate, study the cases of his master in his chambers, and attend the court where the master generally practises. Where the work of his master is of a specialised type, the pupil is permitted with the permission of the master to attend the chamber of any other advocate for a limited period of time. The pupil is required to attend the office of his master regularly throughout the period of his training, but is allowed to absent himself with the master's permission for a period of thirty days in the year excluding vacations.
To ensure that the apprentices take their training seriously, the Council insists on each apprentice maintaining two diaries-the chamber diary and the court diary. The chamber diary is required to contain details of the work done by him such as plaints, affidavits and petitions etc. drafted, case papers studies and authorities looked up. Similarly, the court diary has to give details of the date, the number of the case attended, the argument, the result, whether the case is that of the master, whether the papers were previously studies by the apprentice, the facts of the case, questions of law argued and the decisions cited etc.
An apprentice has to submit his diaries to his master for scrutiny and obtain his signatures therein every thirty days. The fact of such submission and signature has also to be intimated to the Bar Council by the apprentice in a prescribed form countersigned by the master. A further check is provided by the requirement that apprentices in the City of Madras have to submit their diaries for the scrutiny of the Secretary, Bar Council, once in two or three months. Apprentices in mofussil are also required to do it when they come to the city to attend their lectures.
The diaries are again scrutinised by the Secretary at the time of the enrolment application.
In addition to insisting on the maintenance of diaries, the Council arranges lectures on various professional subjects attendance at which is compulsory. Originally, lectures were arranged only on the Procedural Codes but now they cover a large number of subjects. Details of the subjects on which lectures are given and the number of lectures are set out below:-
Civil Procedure |
8 lectures |
Criminal Procedure |
8 lectures |
Limitation |
4 lectures |
Company Law |
4 lectures |
Professional Conduct |
5 lectures |
Insolvency |
4 lectures |
additional lectures in 1958 on motor transport, rent control and labour laws.
The lectures are delivered by members of the Bar and excepting senior members other lectures are remunerated. At one time, special lectures on professional conduct by a senior member of the Bar or a retired High Court Judge were arranged on a payment of Rs. 500. Since 1951, however, the subject of professional conduct has been split into different heads and senior lawyers or retired judges deliver lectures on different heads without charging any remuneration.
The lectures which are generally arranged in the month of August-September are delivered in the premises of the Madras Law College and are spread over a period of 30 to 40 days and attendance at them is compulsory. The apprentices are required to attend not less than fifty per cent. of the lectures on each subject.
The Bar Council holds two examinations a year in March and November. The November examination is the principal one which is taken by apprentices who have completed their year's reading in chambers. The March examination is more in the nature of a supplementary one. The Council charges an examination fee of Rs. 25.
Every apprentice has to take four papers-two on Civil Procedure and two on Criminal Procedure. The subjects prescribed for these two examinations are set out below-
Part I
(1) Code of Civil Procedure with decided cases thereon.
(2) Rules relating to procedure issued by the High Court under the Code of Civil Procedure and rules connected with procedure in civil courts and in the High Court, appellate side, issued under other enactments.
(3) Rules of the original side of the High Court of Judicature at Madras.
Part II
(4) Criminal Procedure Code with decided cases thereon.
(5) Criminal Rules of Practice.
The first paper in each subject carried seventy marks and has to be answered in two hours. The second which can be answered with books has a maximum of thirty marks and is of a strictly practical character. The time allowed is one hour.
A candidate is required to obtain at least forty per cent. of the marks for passing the examination and only those who are successful are entitled to be enrolled as advocates.
The percentage of passes in these examinations between the years 1950 and 1958 varies from 66,09 to 86 in each part.
The Bar Council also awards prizes to the most meritorious apprentice.
Annexure
Statistics of Law Colleges Etc. (1955-56)
Number of law Departments |
Number of law Colleges* |
Number of Students in Law Departments |
Number of Students+ in Law Colleges |
Number of passes in Law Examination |
Minimum Qualifications for admission to Law Department/Colleges |
During of the Course |
||||
University |
B.L./ L.L.B |
M.L./ L.L.M |
B.L/ L.L.B |
M.L./ L.L.M. |
B.L/ L.L.B |
M.L./ L.L.M |
||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
Agra |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
2784 |
534 |
944 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Aligarh |
1 |
.. |
381 |
.. |
.. |
.. |
104* |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Allahabad |
1 |
607 |
10 |
.. |
.. |
185 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
|
Andhra |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
517 |
2 |
171 |
.. |
Degree/ Inter |
2 years/ 3 years |
Banaras |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
386 |
2 |
187 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Bihar |
2 |
.. |
.. |
361 |
.. |
127++ |
.. |
Degree |
2 year |
|
Bombay |
.. |
... |
.. |
.. |
2467 |
120 |
587 |
4 |
Intermediate/ Degree |
3 years/ 2 years |
Calcutta |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
2249 |
.. |
327 |
.. |
Degree |
3 years |
Delhi |
1 |
.. |
689 |
9 |
.. |
.. |
222 |
6 |
Degree |
2 years |
Gauhati |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
283 |
.. |
23 |
.. |
Degree |
3 years |
Gujarat |
.. |
3 |
.. |
.. |
1028 |
38 |
292 |
Intermediate/ Degree |
3 years/ 2 years |
|
Karnataka |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
275 |
19 |
122 |
1 |
Intermediate/ Degree |
3 years/ 2 years |
Lucknow |
1 |
.. |
915 |
25 |
.. |
.. |
345 |
5 |
Degree |
2 years |
Madras++ |
1 |
1 |
.. |
22 |
1.25 |
13 |
556 |
3 |
Degree |
2 years |
Mysore |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
446 |
.. |
105 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Nagpur |
.. |
3(A) |
.. |
.. |
786(A) |
12 |
171 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Osmania |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
1024 |
23 |
97 |
7 |
Degree |
2 year |
Punjab |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
267 |
.. |
163(A) |
.. |
Degree |
3 years |
Patna |
.. |
1 |
.. |
.. |
714 |
.. |
260 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Poona |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
264 |
28 |
76 |
4 |
Inter/Degree |
3 years/ 2 years |
Rajputana |
.. |
5 |
.. |
.. |
894 |
.. |
268 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Sagar |
1 |
1 |
35 |
25 |
287 |
65 |
98 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Travancore |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
538 |
.. |
111 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Utkal |
1 |
.. |
239 |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
49 |
Degree |
2 years |
Gorakhpur |
.. |
2 |
.. |
.. |
166 |
.. |
33 |
.. |
Degree |
2 years |
Total |
7 |
36 |
2866 |
191 |
17293 |
856 |
5623 |
79 |
||
*. Excludes Law Classes attached to Arts and Science colleges.
+. Includes enrolment in Law Classes are held in two of the Colleges affiliated to the University.
++. Figures relate to 1954-55.
$. There is no Law College. But Law Classes are held in two of the colleges affiliated to the university.
Note.- The figures have been collected from the Ministry of Education except those shown against Calcutta, Rajputana and Gorkhpur Universities and those marked (A). They have been collected from the Registrars of the respective Universities.
