Au Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to legal practitioners and to provide for the constitution of Bar Councils and an All India Bar Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as follows:

CHAPTER 1
PREUMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Advocates Act, 1961.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) It shall, in relation to the territories other than those referred to in sub-section.(4), come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

(4) This Act shall, in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

2. Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:


(a) "advocate" means an advocate entered in any roll under the provisions of this Act:

(b) "appointed day", in relation to any provision of this Act, means the dayon which that provision comes into force;

(c) [Omitted by Act 107 of 1976, w.e! 15-10-1976]

(d) "Bar Council" means a Bar Council constituted under this Act;

(e) "Bar Council of India" means the Bar Council constituted under section 4 for the territories to which this Act extends;

(f) [Omitted by Act 60 of1973, w.e! 31-1-1974]

(g) "High Court", except in sub-section (1) and sub-section (lA) of section 34 and in sections 42 and 43, does not include a court of the Judicial Commissioner, and, in relation to a State Bar Council, means:


(i) in the case of a Bar Council constituted for a State or for a State and one or more Union Territories, the High Court for the State;

(ii) in the case of the Bar Council constituted for Delhi, the High Court of Delhi;


(h) "law graduate" means a person who has obtained a bachelor's degree in law from any university established by law in India;

(i) "legal practitioner" means an advocate or vakil of any High Court, a pleader mukhtar or revenue agent;

(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(k) "roll" means a roll of advocates prepared and maintained under this Act;

(l) "State" does not include a Union Territory;

(m) "State Bar Council" means a Bar Council constituted under section 3;

(n) "State roll" means a roll of advocates prepared and maintained by a State Bar Council under section 17.


(2) Any reference in this Act to a law which is not in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, shall, in relation to that State r that territory, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that State or that Territory, as the case may be.

COMMENTS

An advocate is an officer of the court and with that privilege responsibility must follow in its wake. His primary allegiance is to the court and it is no part of the professional duties of an advocate to act merely as a mouthpiece of his client. A member of the bar should use best efforts to restrain and prevent his client from resorting to any unfair or sharp practice.-AIR 1979 NOG 96.