Introduction
The Bar Council of West Bengal is an autonomous regulatory Council constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961 consisting of 26 members. Twenty five of them are elected by the method of proportional representation by single transferable vote. The Advocate General of the State is the ex-officio member. The election to the Council is to take place at the end of five year period to be counted from the date of publication of the result of the election last held. The Council, amongst others, is to admit persons as advocates on its roll and to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates of its roll. It is also to safeguard rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll and to promote the growth of Bar Associations. The Bar Council of India is the apex body under the Advocates Act, of 1961.
The Bar Council of West Bengal constituted under the Advocates Act 1961 has several solemn duties to perform. Among others, it has to lay down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette and also standards of legal education. The State Bar Council enrolls of advocates and enforcement of discipline is part of the obligations of the State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India exercises appellate jurisdiction.
The Bar Council of West Bengal gives a clarion call to all advocates and Bar Associations of the State to rise to the occasion in order to bring down the average waiting period for disposal of matters in Courts and tribunals from 10 to 15 years to 2 to 3 years and raise the efficiency of the justice administration system to make it a matter of envy for all other countries in the world.
Bimal Kumar Chatterjee, Bar-at-Law, Senior Advocate – Chairman, West Bengal Bar Council
The Bar Council of West Bengal is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal, with the power to acquire and hold property, both –movable and immovable and may by the name by which it is known sue and be sued. Section 6 of the Advocates Act lays down the functions of the State Council, which are as follows: –
6. Functions of State Bar Councils
(1) The functions of a State Bar Council shall be —
(a)To admit persons as advocates on its role;
(b) prepare and maintain such roll;
(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates of its roll;
(d) to safeguard rights, privileges and interests of advocates of its roll;
[dd] to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effective implementation of the welfare schemes referred to in clause
(a) of sub-section (2) of this section and clause (a) of sub-section (2) of this section 7;]
(e)to promote and support law reform;
[(ee) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;
(eee) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;
(f) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;
(g) to provide for the election of its members:
(gg) to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given under clause (i) of subsection
(1) of section 7;
(h) to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act;
(i) to do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.
(2) A State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of:—
(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other advocates;
(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;
(c) establishing law libraries.
(3) A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in subsection
(2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.]
II. COMPOSITION OF THE BAR COUNCIL OF WEST BENGAL
The Bar Council of West Bengal consists of 26 Members. Out of the 26 Members, the Advocate General for the State of West Bengal is Ex-officio Members. The other 25 Members represent the 18 districts in the State of West Bengal . The Members are elected for a period of five years and the State Bar Council elects its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman for a period of two years from among the Members of the State Bar Council.
III. STATUTORY COMMITTEES OF THE STATE BAR COUNCIL :
The State Bar Council has several committees out of which the Enrolment Committee and the Disciplinary Committees are Statutory Committees.
Enrolment Committee
Sec. 24. Persons who may be admitted as advocates on a State roll,-(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, and the rules made thereunder, a person shall be qualified to be admitted as an advocate on a State roll, if he fulfils the following conditions, namely:—
(a) he is a citizen of India:
Provided that subject to the other provisions contained in this Act, a national of any other country may be admitted as an advocate on a State roll, if citizens of India, duly qualified, are permitted to practise law in the: other country;
(b) he has completed the age of twenty-one years;
(c) he has obtained a degree in law—
(i) before the 1*[12th day of March, 1967], from any University in the territory of India; or
(ii) before the 15th day of August, 1947, from any University in any area which was
comprised before that date within India as defined by the Government of India Act, 1935; or
(iii) after the 12th day of March, 1967, save as provided in sub-clause (iiia), after undergoing a three-year-course of study in law from any University in India which is recognised for the purposes of this Act by the Bar-Council of India; or
(iiia) after undergoing a course of study in law, the duration of which is not less than two academic years commencing from the academic year 1967-68 or any earlier academic year from any University in India which is recognised for the purposes of this Act by the Bar Council of India; or
(iv) in any other case, from any University outside the territory of India, if the degree is recognised for the purposes of this Act by the Bar Council of India; or he is a barrister and is called to the Bar on or before the 31st day of December, 1976; or has passed the article clerk’s examination or any other examination specified by the High Court at Bombay or Calcutta for enrolment as an attorney of that High Court; or has obtained such other foreign qualification in law as is recognised by the Bar Council of India for the purpose of admission as an advocate under this Act;
(d) omitted;
(e) he fulfils such other conditions as may be specified in the rules made by the State Bar Council under this Chapter ;
(f) he has paid, in respect ofthe enrolment, stamp duty, if any, chargeable under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (2 of 1899), and an enrolment fee payable to the State Bar Council of 2*[ six hundred rupees and to the Bar Council of India, one hundred and fifty rupees by way of a bank draft drawn in favour of that Council ;
Provided that where such person is a member of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes and produces a certificate to that effect from such authority as may be prescribed, the enrolment fee payable by him to the State Bar Council shall be 2*[one hundred rupees and to the Bar Council of India, twenty-five rupees”.
[Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be deemed to have obtained a degree in law from a University in India on the date on which the results of the examination for that degree are published by the University on its notice board or otherwise declaring him to have passed that examination.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), [a vakil or a pleader who is a law graduate] may be admitted as an advocate on a State roll if he—
(a) makes an application for such enrolment in accordance with the provisions of this Act, not later than two years from the appointed day; and
(b) fulfils the conditions specified in clauses (a), (b),(e) and (f) of sub-section (1).
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) a person who—
(a) has, for at least three years, been a vakil or a pleader or a mukhtar, or was entitled at any time to be enrolled under any law as an advocate of a High Court (including a High Court of a former Part B State) or of a Court of Judicial Commissioner in any Union territory; or
(aa)before the 1st day of December, 1961, was entitled otherwise than as an advocate to practise the profession of law (whether by way of pleading or acting or both) by virtue of the provisions of any law, or who would have been so entitled had he not been in public service on the saidn date; or
(c)before the 1st day of April, 1937, has been an advocate of any High Court in any area which was comprised within Burma as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935: or
(d) is entitled to be enrolled as an advocate under any rule made by the Bar Council of India in this behalf, may De admitted as an advocate on a State roll if he—
(i) makes an application for such enrolment in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and (ii) fulfils the conditions specified in clauses (a), (b),
(e) and (f) of sub-section (1). (4) omitted;
Disciplinary Committees :
One of the important functions of the State Bar Council is to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for Advocates under section 7(1)(b)© and (d) read with Section 49 (1)© of the Advocates Act. 1961. For this purpose u/s 35 of the Act complaints against Advocates for professional and other misconduct are received by the State Bar Councils.
The State Bar Council constitutes the Disciplinary Committees. Every Committee consists of three Members out of which two Members are from the State Bar Council and the third Members is co-opted from outside to enquire into the professional and other misconduct of advocates on the rolls of various State Bar Councils in the country.
Under section 35(3) of the Act the Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Councils can reprimand, suspend or remove the name of the Advocate from the roll of Advocates if found guilty.
The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Councils have same powers as are vested in the Civil Court under Code of Civil Procedure,1908 in respect of summoning the witnesses and recording the evidence and appointment of Commissions.
Under section 37 of the Act the appeal lies before the Bar Council of India against the order of the Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Councils.
If the case is not disposed of within the statutory period of one year from the date of the receipt of the complaint or the date of initiation of the proceedings at the instance of State Bar Council, the same is transferred to the Bar Council of India under section 36B(1) of the Act.The Disciplinary Commit-tees of the Bar Council Of India continue the original case from the stage at which it was so left by the State Bar Council.
The Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Council of India discharge the work of an appellate author ity aswell as exercise original jurisdiction.
Other Committees
The Bar Council of West Bengal has also other Committees viz.. Executive Committee. Rules Committee , Advocates Welfare Fund Committee. and various other Committees formed to look into specific issues arising from time to time.
