ADVOCATE ON RECORD

[Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN]

Advocate

Advocate is a person whose name is entered on the roll of advocates prepared and maintained by a State Bar Council under the Advocates Act, 1961.

Advocate on record

Rule 2(1)(b) of Supreme Court Rules, 2013 defines the expression ‘Advocate on record’ as an advocate who is entitled under these rules to act as well as to plead for a party in the Supreme Court.

Eligibility

The following are the eligibility criteria to become an Advocate on record-

• The advocate must have a practice for five years as an advocate.
• The Advocate has been borne on the roll of any State Bar Council for a period of not less than four years on the date of commencement of his training.

Training

• The Advocate is to undergo one year training with Senior Advocate.
• He has to intimate to the Supreme Court that, he or she has started taking training with a Senior Advocate on the record because he or she intends to become an Advocate-on-record.

The following documents are required to be furnished by the applicant-Advocate to the Registry at the time of commencement of his/her training:-

• Intimation letter from the applicant-Advocate, having standing of minimum of 4 years as an Advocate, affixing therein a recent passport size photograph, preferably on the letterhead of the applicant-Advocate, containing his complete address and contact details.' Intimation letter should be furnished within seven days of commencement of training.
• Consent letter from the Advocate-on-Record on the letterhead, having standing of not less than 10 years as an Advocate-on-Record, duly signed and stamped by the Advocate-on-Record
• Notarized/attested and legible copy of the Certificate of Enrolment issued by the concerned State Bar Council.
• Continuity Certificate (in original) issued by the concerned State Bar Council, of a date not preceding 6 months from the date of submission of these documents.
• Notarized/attested and legible copy of the Certificate of Practice issued by the Bar Council of India, issued on qualifying All India Bar Examination (if applicable)

The following documents are required to be furnished by the applicant-Advocate to the Registry at the time of completion of his/her training:-

• Certificate of completion of training on the letter head (duly signed and stamped by the Advocate-on-Record) -- to be submitted after completion of one year of continuous training under an Advocate-on-Record, with detailed report on his/her work.

Exemption from training

The following shall get exemption from attending the above said training-

• an attorney;
• a solicitor on the rolls of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society shall be exempted from such training and test if his/her name is, and has been borne on the roll of State Bar Council for a period of not less than seven years on the date of making the application for registration as an advocate-an-record.

Examination

On completion of one year training the advocate has to appear for an examination conducted by the Supreme Court itself.  The examination is used to be  held between May and June.  The exam has four different papers containing a total of 27 question divided into four papers.   Duration of each paper is 3 hours.  50% of mark is prescribed for passing a paper and a combined of aggregate of 60% in all subjects is required. 

Syllabus

The examination consists of four papers-

• Practice and procedure of Supreme Court

•  important provisions of the constitution of India relating to jurisdiction of the court.
• Supreme Court Rules and provisions of Civil Procedure Code, Limitation Act and the General Principles of court fees Act.

• Drafting –

• Petitions for Special Leave and Statements of Cases, etc.
• Decrees, Orders, and Writs, etc.
• petitions of appeal, plaint and written statement in a suit under Article 131 of the Constitution of India; review petitions under Article 137 of the Constitution of India; transfer petitions u/s 25 of the Civil Procedure Code; Article 139 of the Constitution of India and Section 406 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973; contempt petitions under Article 129 of the Constitution of India, interlocutory applications including criminal miscellaneous petitions for bail, condonation of delay, exemption from surrender, applications for revocation of special leave, etc

• Advocate and Professional ethics-

• The Advocates Act and Cases reported under the Advocates Act, particularly disciplinary proceedings.
• Cases relating to the Contempt of Court involving Advocates.
• The Bar Council of India Rules.
• The Supreme Court Rules, 2013.

• Leading cases-

• All the cases as notified by the exam department.

Latest examination

The latest examination has earlier been scheduled to be held on 8^th, 9^th, 10^th and 11^th June, 2021 vide Notification No. AOR/Exam/June 2021, dated 26.03.2021 of Supreme Court of India.  Now it has been re-scheduled for 20^th, 21^st, 22^nd and 23^rd December, 2021, vide Notification No. AOR Exam/Dec/2021, dated 10.08.2021 of Supreme Court of India.

Registration

On passing the examination the Advocate must have a registered office within a radius of 10 miles from the Supreme Court building and a registered clerk.  He is to pay the prescribed fees for registration.  After this the Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court accepts him as an advocate-on-record.

Every advocate-on-record shall notify to the Registrar his/her e-mail address and the address of his office in Delhi and every change of such address, and any notice, writ, summons, or other document sent on such e-mail address or served on him or his clerk at the address so notified by him shall be deemed to have been property served.

Entitlement

An advocate-on-record shall, on his filing a memorandum of appearance on behalf of a party accompanied by a vakalatnama duly executed by the party, be entitled-

• to act as well as to plead for the party in the matter and to conduct and prosecute before the Court all proceedings that may be taken in respect of the said matter or any application connected with the same or any decree or order passed therein including proceedings in taxation and applications for review; and
• to deposit and receive money on behalf of the said party.

Books of accounts

Every advocate-on·record shall keep such books of account as may be necessary to show and distinguish in connection with his practice as an advocate-on-record-

• moneys received from or on account of and the moneys paid to or on account of each of his clients; and
• the moneys received and the moneys paid on his own account.

Suspension

Where an advocate-on-record is suspended or his name is removed from the State roll maintained under the Advocates Act, 1961, he shall, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, be deemed as from the date of the order of the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India, as the case may be, to be suspended or removed from the register of advocates on record for the same period as is mentioned in the order of the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India, as the case may be.

Removal

Where an advocate-on-record ceases to have an office or a registered clerk or both as required notice shall issue to such advocate to show cause before the Chamber Judge on a date fixed, why his name should not be struck off the register of advocates on record, and if the Chamber Judge makes such an order, the name of such advocate shall be removed from the register accordingly and the advocate shall thereafter cease to be entitled to act as an advocate-on-record.

When, on the complaint of any person or otherwise, the Court is of the opinion that an advocate-on-record has been guilty of misconduct or of conduct unbecoming of an advocate-on-record, the Court may make an order removing his name from the register of Advocates on record either permanently or for such period as the Court may think fit and the Registrar shall thereupon report the said fact to the Bar Council of India and to State Bar Council concerned.

The Court shall, before making such order, issue to such Advocate-on-record a summons returnable before the Court or before a Special Bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice, requiring the advocate-on-record to show cause against the matters alleged in the summons and the summons shall, if practicable, be served personally upon him with copies of any affidavit or statement before the Court at the time of issue of the summons.

Any advocate-on-record may at any time by letter request the Registrar to remove his name from the register of advocates on record, absolutely or subject to his continuing to act as advocate-on-record in respect of all or any of the pending cases in which he may have filed a vakalatnama, of which he shall file a list. The Registrar shall thereupon remove his name from the register of advocates on record, absolutely or subject as aforesaid