1 in 3 lawyers fake, Supreme Court to look at digital registry

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea seeking a national digital register for advocates

New Delhi: With one in every three advocates being fake at a time when the judiciary is occupying a central space in India's governance, a concerned Supreme Court Thursday agreed to examine the plea of the Bar Association of India (BAI) for a national digital register for advocates along the lines of Aadhaar.

"Judicial independence of the legal profession is at stake," said BAI's counsel Prashant Kumar and Vipin Nair, while drawing the court's attention to the Bar Council of India (BCI) chairperson's recent statement that approximately 35-40% of those practising in courts may be without genuine degrees. The counsels told a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana periodic drives by BCI for the verification of degrees of advocates is an ad hoc measure to address the problem of fake lawyers and suggested the creation of a permanent technology-driven infrastructure in the form of a National Digital Registry for the Legal Professionals. CJI Kant said the suggestion appeared to be an innovative one, which could be implemented with the help of technology, but it would require the impleadment of all universities which confer law degrees and instructing them to reveal the list of those who had genuinely secured the requisite qualifications to practise in courts. The bench sought responses from the Union govt, BCI, University Grants Commission and state bar councils to the PIL.

CJI Kant said he had doubts about the genuineness of law degrees of some advocates who post derogatory comments on social media against the judiciary. "I am prima facie convinced they are backdoor entries. Advocates by and large are very responsible. The system must identify those who are masquerading as lawyers without proper degrees. The best way to sideline them is to encourage and strengthen the young lawyers by giving them periodic training, as is being done by some advocate bodies, and giving them space in courts. They must be brought to the forefront," he said. Kumar suggested the BCI and the court frame guidelines on dos and don'ts for lawyers to regulate their social media activities. CJI Kant said, "Our hope is the young lawyers and future generation."