MANY LAWYERS FAKE, BAR COUNCIL TELLS SC

NEW DELHI: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has admitted before the Supreme Court that persons without a valid law degree enrolled as advocates have been cheating the litigants.

Defending its decision to frame verification rules, under which state bar councils have been directed to verify the antecedents of advocates enrolled with them for practice, the BCI also complained that several registered lawyers were involved in other professions such as property dealings, contracts and businesses.

The BCI statement comes in an affidavit filed before the SC where it moved a petition seeking the transfer of cases from different high courts in which lawyers have challenged the verification rules. It has blamed state bar councils for enrolling advocates without conducting a proper background check of the fresh law graduates.

In some cases, the BCI said, the bar council officials registered advocates despite knowing they possessed fake degrees. The top court is to take up the affidavit for consideration on Monday.

The verification rules, the affidavit filed by advocate Ardhendumauli Prasad said, would enable state councils to weed out “fake” advocates and maintain the dignity of the honourable legal profession that faced much embarrassment when Jitender Singh Tomar, former law minister of the Delhi government, was arrested over a fake law degree. Tomar was enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council.

A state bar council is an elected body of lawyers. Any disciplinary issue pertaining to an advocate is referred to that bar council where he or she is registered. A decision by the state bar council can be assailed before the BCI.

The BCI said it has learnt council members issued identity cards to persons with fake degrees to get their votes in the election of either the bar associations or councils.