What does the Supreme Court of India have to say on fake advocates? Two important ongoing cases are relevant to any discussion on the Supreme Court of India’s attempts to rid the courts of the scourge of fake advocates. These are Ajayinder Sangwan & Ors. v. Bar Council of Delhi & Ors. and Ajay Shankar Srivastava v. Bar Council of India & Anr. (Supreme Court Judgments available here)
Ajayinder Sangwan & Ors. v. Bar Council of Delhi & Ors.
The Supreme Court of India in Ajayinder Sangwan & Ors. v. Bar Council of Delhi & Ors. undertook the extremely gigantic task of overseeing the cleaning up the electoral rolls of all the State Bar Councils. This was vide enforcement of Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015. The consequence intended: weed out fake advocates and thereby fair elections in the Bar councils.
This case is still ongoing. What is of relevance here are two of the several orders.
Note: The Bar Council of India constituted a 6 member High Power Committee for monitoring the process of verification. A former Judge of the Supreme Court would chair this committee.
Ajayinder Sangwan [2017] 7 S.C.R. 666
The Supreme Court vide orders dated 23.08.2017 directed all Bar councils to cure defective applications of advocates for verification; directed University authorities to verify all degrees presented to them within one month of presentation.
As seen above degree certificates were to accompany the advocates’ verification form. Universities were to verify these on presentation.
The Supreme Court thus specifically passed orders that advocates who had not removed the defects in their application forms for verification as well as those found having a fake law degree would not be included in the electoral rolls.
Ajayinder Sangwan [2017] 11 S.C.R. 264
Vide orders dated 24.11.2017 the Supreme Court modified its orders dated 23.08.2017. It directed the inclusion in the electoral roll of all 6,44,768 advocates who had submitted their verification forms. This was excluding advocates with fake degrees. In Para No.8 of the said orders the Supreme Court stated that if on verification law degrees were to be found fake then appropriate orders would be passed in relation to such enrolments as well as in relation to the elections in which such fake advocates participated in.
Ajay Shankar Srivastava v. Bar Council of India & Anr.
The Supreme Court of India in Ajay Shankar Srivastava v. Bar Council of India & Anr. has again undertaken the task of overseeing the verification of degrees. This also includes the verification of enrolment certificates.
This case is still ongoing.
Ajay Shankar Srivastava [2023] 6 S.C.R 505
The Supreme Court vide Judgment dated 10.04.2023 summarising the work done by them in Ajay Inder Sangwan (supra) states eloquently the impact of fake advocates on the justice system.
The Supreme Court also set up a court monitored 8 member High Power Committee chaired by a former Supreme Court Judge – Mr.Justice Deepak Gupta with the mandate to:
“15. The Committee constituted by this Court is empowered to monitor the process of verification. The Committee would be at liberty to issue necessary guidelines and directions to ensure that the process of verification of advocates is duly carried out. The process of verification shall encompass both the educational degree certificates and the certificates of enrollment of the advocates concerned. All State Bar Councils shall comply with the directions of the Committee and report compliance.
16. All Universities and Examination Boards shall verify the genuineness of the educational certificates without charging any fee for the purpose of verification. The requisitions made by the Bar Councils shall be carried out without undue delay and the reports of the verification shall be submitted expeditiously.”