Lawyers shout slogans during a protest march over the proposed Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in Lucknow, on February 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Union Law Ministry on Saturday (February 22, 2025) announced that it would bring in a new draft Bill to amend the Advocates Act after receiving public feedback on the existing draft Bill.
The Ministry, proposing to amend the Advocates Act by making sweeping changes in the definitions of what a legal practitioner and a law graduate mean, had put the draft The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on its website for public feedback and comments. However, members of the legal fraternity were opposing certain amendments to the Advocates Act, 1961.
Also read: Lawyers in Delhi courts to abstain from work over proposed Advocates (Amendment) Bill
The U-turn on the draft Bill came after the Bar Council of India (BCI) had written to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, stating that the proposed Bill seeks to undermine the “autonomy and independence of the Bar”.
“The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was made available for public consultation on February 13, 2025, on the website of the Department of Legal Affairs demonstrating the government’s commitment to transparency and broader engagement with stakeholders and the public. However, considering the number of suggestions and concerns received, it has been decided to conclude the consultation process now. Based on the feedback received, the draft Bill, as revised will be processed afresh for consultation with stakeholders,” a statement from the Law Ministry said.
The Congress had said the Bill, meant to regulate the legal profession, was “poorly drafted” and should be put on hold until more consultations with stakeholders are carried out.
“…Instead of creating a proper forum to allow lawyers to raise their grievances and issues, the proposed Bill takes away lawyers’ rights to raise legitimate demands by way of a boycott or abstinence from work with the imposition of penal consequences,” senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who heads the party’s legal cell, had said in a statement on Thursday (February 20, 2025).
“The proposed Bill allows for excessive government interference into the composition, practice and procedure of professional regulatory bodies, thereby deviating from the principle of self-autonomy and self-independence as upheld by the Supreme Court of India,” he had added.
Published – February 22, 2025 10:46 pm IST
