Out of 20 lakh lawyers in the country, 12 lakh lawyers turned out to be fake

Open fraud with citizens seeking justice

Every five years for all lawyers, the Bar Council to expel bogus lawyers from the system? Mandatory rule to renew license

New Delhi: The Bar Council of India's (BCI) new verification system has revealed that 60 per cent of the nearly 20 lakh lawyers practicing in Indian courts, or 12 lakh, are bogus. The number has doubled in the last two years.

The information came as the BCI made it mandatory for advocates to renew their licenses every five years. To expel bogus lawyers from the system and strengthen the verification process of practicing lawyers, the BCI has recommended charging enrollment fees to all the twelve councils in the state. His university and college degrees will be sent for verification.

The BCI has learned in the investigation that several lawyers are practicing in court without proper certificates. Last year, it informed the Supreme Court that out of 20 lakh lawyers registered in India, 30 per cent had a bogus degree.

The BCI has asked all the bar councils in the state to charge Rs 2,500 as enrollment fee from lawyers to prevent the rot from spreading. According to the new guidelines, an advocate will have to submit all the documents related to his / her academic degrees while registering with the state bar council. The Bar Council will send these documents to the concerned university or board for verification within five days of submission.

The registration of a lawyer will be considered complete only after receiving an official reply from the State Bar Council in whose absence the candidate will be temporarily registered for six months. Candidates will have to be interviewed before the State Bar Council sends the certificates of registration. He will then have to send the details of the registered candidates to the BCI within 10 days.

Former Chief Justice of India JS Kheher has expressed concern over the rising number of bogus lawyers, saying that it includes not only lawyers with bogus degrees but also lawyers without any degree. These people are practicing in the courts without any license or permission and are playing a game with the citizens who want justice.