Comments on the Proposed Amendments to the Advocates Act, 1961
Document Type
Response or Comment
Publication Title
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Abstract
This policy submission by the Centre for the Study of the Legal Profession (CSLP), NLSIU provides a detailed critique of the Draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2026 submitted to the Bar Council of India. The document warns that the proposed thirty-fold hike in enrollment fees (to ₹22,500) creates an entry barrier for young lawyers, recommending a scaled-back fee structure, installment options, and the removal of vague financial incapacity qualifiers for concessions. To foster diversity and modernise governance, CSLP urges raising women's reservation in State Bar Councils to 30%, expanding co-option pathways for marginalized groups, and establishing statutory minimum stipends for junior advocates alongside mandatory candidate disclosures. Furthermore, it advocates for a structured three-tier framework for foreign lawyers and OCIs to replace blanket citizenship bans, alongside clearer functional separations within legal education regulation and independent election tribunals.
Publication Date
7-31-2026
Recommended Citation
(CSLP), Centre for the Study of the Legal Profession, "Comments on the Proposed Amendments to the Advocates Act, 1961" (2026). Legal and Policy Submissions. 9.
https://repository.nls.ac.in/faculty_legal-and-policy-submissions/9