The Supreme Court has established a committee to investigate the validity of lawyers’ credentials.
The Supreme Court of India has established a new eight-person committee to oversee the validation of lawyers’ and academics credentials. Justice Deepak Gupta, formerly of the highest court in the land, is in charge of the group.
This ruling came about as a result of a petition filed by practising lawyer Ajay Shankar Srivastava in response to an instruction from the Bar Council of India to all state bar councils. The petition was heard by a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimho, and Justice JB Pardiwald. The order effectively halted efforts to vet potential advocates.
Justice Arun Tandon, a retired judge from the Allahabad High Court, will head up the committee alongside Senior Advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Moninder Singh and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon. The Bar Council of India will appoint three members to the commission.
State Bar Council requests for verification of degrees will be fulfilled without undue delay, and all universities and exam boards shall do so free of charge. A status report is due to the bench on August 31, 2023, so the committee has been asked to begin its work on a date and time that works for everyone.
According to an official instruction from the Bar Council of India, all state bar councils were instructed to cease their verification of advocates. The Bar Council of India filed a transfer petition with the Supreme Court after this order was challenged in two different high courts.
The Supreme Court noted that verifying lawyers’ identities through state bar associations is crucial to preserving the legitimacy of the judicial system. The bench emphasised that people who claim to be attorneys but lack the requisite academic credentials to be admitted to the bar cannot be given access to the court system.
It was argued in court by Manon Kumar Misra, chairman of the Bar Council of India, that the purpose of the office order was not to halt the verification process but to make sure that it took into account the validity and genuineness of degree certificates in addition to certificates of proficiency.
The committee’s work is vital since it will guarantee that the verification is conducted in a timely and accurate manner. It will also aid in vetting out individuals who aren’t cut out for the legal profession or are just there for the wrong reasons. To protect the integrity of the legal system and make sure that only legitimate solicitors are allowed to practise law, the verification process is crucial.
The Supreme Court has underlined that the number of attorneys has risen from 16 lakh to 25.70 lakh and that it is crucial to verify the credentials of all these advocates in order to preserve the credibility of the legal system. The court has asked all legitimate lawyers to comply with this process of having their degrees confirmed, and if this is not done on a regular basis, it might cast a major cloud over the administration of justice.
The committee has its work cut out for it since various problems arose throughout the verification process (such as institutions charging low-income students or lawyers to validate their degree certificates), making their job more difficult than it should be. The committee must ensure that all attorneys are able to have their degrees validated free of charge and without undue delays in the verification procedure.
The committee’s formation is a positive step towards achieving these goals, and we applaud the Supreme Court for taking this step to help ensure that only qualified, legitimate solicitors are allowed to practise law and represent clients in court. The committee’s efforts will be important in protecting the credibility of the judicial system and maintaining the respectability of lawyers.