AMITY LAW SCHOOL

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL PROFESSION IN INDIA
BY ARUN YADAV
B.A,L.L.B(H)
SECTION-D
ENROLLMENT NO:A11911115086
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to
my teacher Ms Shreya sarkar who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on Development of
legal profession in india which helped me in doing a lot
of Research and i came to know about so many new
things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and friends

who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the
limited time frame.
 content
Introduction
Mayor’s court
Supreme courts
High courts
The legal practitioners act.1879

The Legal Practitioner Act, 1884

Indian bar committee, 1923
THE INDIAN BAR COUNCILS ACT, 1926
Law commission report 1958
The advocates act, 1961
Conclusion
 Introduction
The Legal Profession is an important limb of the machinery for the
administration of justice. Without a well-organized profession of law,
the courts would not be in a position to administer justice effectively as
the evidence in favor or against the parties to a suit cannot be properly
marshaled, facts cannot be properly articulated and the best legal
arguments in support or against the case of the parties cannot be put
forth before the court. “A well-organized system of judicial
administration postulates a properly equipped and efficient Bar.” It is,
therefore, in the fitness of things to take note briefly of the development
of the legal profession in India.

The history of the legal profession in India can be traced back to the
establishment of the First British Court in Bombay in 1672 by Governor
Aungier. The admission of attorneys was placed in the hands of the
Governor-in-Council and not with the Court. Prior to the establishment
of the Mayor’s Courts in 1726 in Madras and Calcutta, there were no
legal practitioners.
 Mayor’s court

In the Charter of 1726, which established the Mayor’s Courts at the three
Presidency Towns, no specific provision was made laying down any
particular qualifications for the persons who would be entitled to act or
plead as legal practitioners in these courts. Presumably, it was left to
these courts to regulate this matter by rules of practice which these
courts were authorized to frame. No change was effected in this position
when a fresh Charter was issued in 1753. No organized legal profession
came into being in the Presidency Towns during the period of the
mayor’s Courts. They who practiced law were devoid of any legal
training or any knowledge of the law. They had adopted the profession
in the absence of anything better to do. Quite a few of these so-called
lawyers were the dismissed servants of the Company.
Supreme courts
The first concrete step in the direction of organizing a legal profession in
India was taken in 1774 when the Supreme Court was established at
Calcutta. The Regulating Act, 1773, empowered the Supreme Court to
frame rules of procedure as it thought necessary for the administration of
justice and due execution of its powers. Under CI.11 of its Charter, the
Supreme Court was empowered to approve, admit and enroll such and
so many Advocates and Attorneys-at-law, as to the Court shall deem fit.
Attorneys of record were to be authorized to appear and plead and act
for the suitors in the Supreme Court. The court was to have the power to
remove any Advocate or Attorney on a reasonable cause. No other
person whatever, but Advocates or Attorneys so admitted and enrolled,
were to be allowed to appear and plead, or act in the Court for or on
behalf of such suitors.
High courts
In 1861, legislation was passed by the British Parliament to establish
High Courts at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. At this time, there were
in existence three bodies of practitioners in the Supreme Courts and, the
Sadar Adalats-Advocates, Attorneys and Vakils. CI9 of the Letters
Patent of 1865 of the High Court of Calcutta empowered the Court “to
approve, admit and enroll such and so many Advocates, Vakils and
Attorneys as to the said High Court shall deem fit.” These persons were
“authorized to appear for the suitors of the High Court, and to plead or to
act, or to plead and act for the said suitors, according to as High Court
may by its rules and directions determine, and subject to such rules and
directions.
The legal practitioners act.1879
The Act, of 1879, was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating
to legal practitioners in the mofussils. The Act repealed the Pleaders,
Mukhtars and Revenue Agents Act 1865. At this time, there were six
grades of practitioners functioning in India. Advocates, Solicitors
(Attorneys), and Vakils of the High Court: Pleaders, Mukhtars and
revenue agents in the lower courts. The High Court laid down standards
for admission of Vakils to practice in the High Court; for Zila Courts,
standards were laid down in the Regulations which were lower for
pleaders than the High Court vakils. Thus, Vakils became a distinct
grade above the Pleader.

The Legal Practitioner Act, 1884

The power to make rules regarding Advocates of the High Court was
also conferred on the non-chartered High Courts by the Legal
Practitioners Act, 1884 of 1884. Such a High Court could make rules,
with the previous sanction of the Provincial Government, as to the
qualifications and admission of proper persons to be Advocates of the
Court, and subject to such rules could enroll so many Advocates asit
thought fit. The High Court could dismiss any advocate or suspend him
from practice after giving him an opportunity of defending himself, but
such an order needed the confirmation of the Provincial Government.

The Calcutta High Court held that women were not entitled to be
enrolled as Vakils or Pleaders of courts subordinate to the High Court. A
similar case came before the Patna High Court. Miss Hazara secured a
B.L. Degree for the Calcutta University. She was refused enrolment as
Pleader. She challenged this in the High Court of Patna. The Court ruled
that the section of the Legal Practitioners’ Act referred to males and not
to females. This was to be expected as since 1793 no women held ever
been admitted to the roll of pleaders
Indian bar committee, 1923
Munshi Ishwar Saran moved in February 1921, a resolution in the
Legislative Assembly recommending legislation “with a view to create
an Indian Bar so as to remove all distinction enforced by statue or by
practice between Barristers and Vakils.” The mover of the resolution not
only laid emphasis the removal of distinction between Barristers and
Vakils but also advocated the constitution of a recognized body
consisting exclusively of lawyers in India to provide for legal education,
to exercise disciplinary control over the Bar and to deal with all others
matters relating to the legal profession. This was deemed important
because many High Courts exercised disciplinary powers over lawyers
on the theory that Vakils were officers of the court. As finally adopted,
the resolution merely recommended the eliciting of opinion from all
quarters before undertaking legislation in the proposed direction.
The indian bar councils act, 1926

To give effect to the recommendations of the Chamier Committee to

some extent, the Central Legislature enacted the Indian Bar Councils
Act, 1926.The object of the Act, as stated in its preamble, was to provide
for the constitution and incorporation of bar Councils for certain Courts
in British India, to confer powers and impose duties on such bar
Councils, and to consolidate and attend the law relating to legal
practitioners entitled to practice in such courts. The purpose of the act
thus was to unify the various grades of legal practitioners and to provide
some measure of self-government to the bars attached to the various
Courts.
 Law commission report 1958

The recommendations of the Bar Committee were not acted upon for
long. Then India came to have a Law Commission, and of its terms of
reference mentioned “The level of the Bar.” The law Commission made
its famous Fourteenth report in 1953 in which, among other things, it
again recommended establishment of a unified All India Bar,
preparation of a common role of advocates with right to practice in all
the courts. The c committee lamented that notwithstanding the lapse of
ten years, “the Bar still remains divided into different grades of
practitioners and even practitioners of the lowest grade, namely,
Mukhtars, a still being recruited in some of the states”.

The Law Commission regretted that the recommendation made by the

Bar committee as per back as March, 1953, had not yet been given
legislative effect. The committee fully endorsed the recommendation of
the Bar committee, 1951, that there should be no further recruitment of
non graduate pleaders of Mukhtars. The commission also endorse the
Bar committees view that the insistence on a certain no. of years practice
in a High Court as a condition of eligibility for enrollment as an
advocate of the Supreme Court should be abolished and that an advocate
should be left free to practice in any court including the Supreme Court
irrespective of his standing at the bar.
The advocates act, 1961
In 1961, parliament enacted the Advocates Act to amend in consolidated the law
relating to the legal practitioner, and to provide for the constitution for the State
Bar Council and All India Bar Council. The Advocates Act implements the
recommendation of the Bar Committee in the Law Commission with some
modifications. It repeals the Indian Bar Council Act, 1926, the Legal Practitioners
Act, 1879, in other laws under subject. The act has undergone several amendments
since its enactment in 1961. The Act extends to the whole of India.

The Act establishes an All India Bar Council for the first time. The Attorney
General of India in the Solicitor General of India is the ex-officio members of the
Bar Council of India. Besides, it has one member elected by its State Bar Council
from among its members. The Council elects its own chairman and vice-chairman.
The Bar Council of India has been entrusted inter alia with the following important
functions:

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

(2) To safeguard the rights, privileges and interest of advocates

(3) To promote legal education

(4) To lay down standards of legal educati0on in consultation with the

universities imparting such educations in the State Bar Councils.

(5) To recognize universities which degrees in law shall qualify for enrollment as
an advocate and up to visit and inspect the universities for that purpose.

(6) To exercise general supervision and control over state bar councils.

(7) To promote and support law reform

(8) To organize legal aid to the poor.

 Conclusion

Legal history existing, the law as a profession has evolved after thousands of years
which, no denial, is flourishing. Through the various stages of development has it
come to the place of recognition and social acceptance! Yet there exists some bias
and ill-informed criticisms among the lower strata of the society besides bordering
condemnations. The immense stride that the ‘legal profession’ has made post-
independence is to the credit of the Government and the Bar Council of India and
various states. Globalization has had its own contribution to the development of
law as a profession. But with globalization and the trend of India’s emergence on
the international fora shortcomings have come to light which immediately needs
attention and address. The immense population growth and emerging domestic
spheres have added to the growth of the profession and also to irreconcilable
shortcomings. Immense strides made, there still is enormous room for evolution
and development of the profession. What is needed is a vision based on
philosophy.
 BIBLOGRAPHY
www.lawacdemia.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.lawoctopus.com