8. Enrolment of advocates.—(1) No person shall be entitled as of right to practice in any High
Court, unless his name is entered in the roll of the advocates of the High Court maintained under this Act:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any attorney of the High Court.
(2) The High Court shall prepare and maintain a roll of advocates of the High Court in which shall be
entered the names of—
(a) all persons who were, as advocates, vakils or pleaders, entitles as of right to practise in the
High Court immediately before the date on which this section comes into force in respect thereof; and
(b) all other persons who have been admitted to be advocates of the High Court under this Act:
Provided that such persons shall have paid in respect of enrolment the stamp-duty, if any,
chargeable under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (2 of 1899), and a fee, payable to the Bar Council,
which shall be ten rupees in the case of the persons referred to in clause (a), and in other cases such
amount as may be prescribed.
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[(3) Entries in the roll shall be made in the order of seniority, and such seniority shall be determined
as follows, namely:—
(a) all such persons as are referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) shall be entered first in the
order in which they were respectively entitled to seniority inter se immediately before the date on
which this section comes into force in respect of the High Court; and
(b) the seniority of any other person admitted to be an advocate of the High Court under this Act
after that date shall be determined by the date of his admission or, if he is a barrister, by the date of
his admission or the date on which he was called to the Bar, whichever date is earlier:
Provided that, for the purposes of clause (b), the seniority of a person who before his admission to
be an advocate was entitled as of right to practice in another High Court shall be determined by the
date on which he became so entitled.
(4) The respective rights of pre-audience of advocates of the High Court shall be determined by
seniority:
Provided that the Advocate-General shall have pre-audience overall other advocates2***.]
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[(5)] The High Court shall issue a certificate of enrolment to every person enrolled under this
section.
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[(6)]High Court shall send to the Bar Council a copy of the roll as prepared under this section, and
shall thereafter communicate to the Bar Council all alterations in, and additions to, the roll as soon as the
same have been made.
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[(7)] The Bar Council shall enter in the copy of the roll all alterations and additions so communicated
to it.]
9. Qualifications and admission of advocates.—4
(1) The Bar Council may, with the previous
sanction of the High Court, make rules to regulate the admission of persons to be advocates of the High
Court:
Provided that such rules shall not limit or in any way affect the power of the High Court to refuse
admission to any person at its discretion.
1. Ins. by Act 13 of 1927, s. 2.
2. The words “and King’s Counsel shall have pre-audience over all advocates except the Advocate-General” omitted by Act 3 of
1951, s. 3 and Schedule.
3. Sub-section (3), (4) and (5) re-numbered as sub-section (5), (6) and (7) respectively by Act 13 of 1927, s. 2.
4.The provisions of sections 3 to 7, sub-section (1), (2) and (3) of section 9, section 15 and section 20, shall stand repealed in the
territory for which the State Bar Council is constituted vide Act 25 of 1961, s. 50(1).
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(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules shall
provide for the following matters, namely:—
(a) the qualifications to be possessed by persons applying for admission as advocates;
(b) the form and manner in which applications shall be made to the High Court for admission;
(c) the giving of notice by the High Court to the Bar Council of all such applications;
(d) the hearing by the High Court of any objection preferred on behalf of the Bar Council to the
admission of any applicant; and
(e) the charging of fees payable to the Bar Council in respect of enrolment.
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(3) Rules made under this section shall provide that no woman shall be disqualified for admission to
be an advocate by reason only of her sex.
(4) Nothing in this section or in any other provision of this Act shall be deemed to limit or in any way
affect the powers of the High Courts of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal and at Bombay to prescribe
the qualifications to be possessed by persons applying to practise in those High Courts respectively in the
exercise of their original jurisdiction or the powers of those High Courts to grant or refuse, as they think
fit, any such applications 1
[or to prescribe the conditions under which such person shall be entitled to
practice or plead.]