The Bar Council of India released the Draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2026, for public consultation, inviting inputs from State Bar Councils, Bar Associations, law universities, and legal practitioners before July 31, 2026.

In the revised draft, the Bar Council of India omitted several proposals from the earlier 2025 draft. Specifically, the Council removed provisions imposing severe penalties for advocate strikes, deleted clauses prescribing heavy fines up to five lakh rupees for disciplinary infractions, and eliminated proposals that permitted government nominees on Bar Councils.

The draft inserted a dedicated chapter into the Advocates Act, 1961, providing express statutory recognition and mandatory registration for law firms operating as partnerships, LLPs, or incorporated entities. Law firms operating across multiple states were required to register directly with the BCI as well as State Bar Councils. The statutory framework aimed to encourage advocates in tier-2, tier-3, and district-level courts to formalise their legal practices into registered entities.

"Bar Council of India intends to strengthen Indian Law Firms and to encourage the Advocates at the State, District and Taluka Level to form and register Law Firms. Uptill now, we find that only Big Metropolitan City-based Advocates are forming Law Firms/LLPs/Companies...Bar Council of India also intends to encourage and make the smaller Law Firms stronger...This is a major profession-building reform. For the first time, Indian law firms would receive express recognition under the Advocates Act as institutions through which advocates practise collectively", it said.

The proposed bill codified specific restrictions and regulatory guidelines for foreign lawyers and law firms within the Advocates Act. While foreign practitioners remained strictly barred from appearing before Indian courts, tribunals, or statutory authorities, the BCI was empowered to register, suspend, or regulate foreign entities practicing non-Indian law or participating in international commercial arbitrations on a regulated "fly-in and fly-out" basis. Moreover, the right to enroll and practice as an advocate in India was explicitly restricted to Indian citizens.

For the Foreign lawyers/foreign law firms it porposed, "Bar Council of India is not going to do anything which could hamper/ adversely affect the interest of our Indian Law Firms in any manner. The doors of India would be opened up for foreign law firms in phased manner only i.e. in a way which could suit the Indian Law Firms. The Bar Council of India had constituted a committee consisting of some reputed Indian Law Firms. The Committee was headed by Mr. Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas...This Committee has submitted its report and Bar Council of India is to consider and act accordingly. The interest of Indian Lawyers and Indian Law Firms is of paramount importance for the Bar Council of India. Foreign Lawyers/Foreign Law Firms will not be permitted to practice Indian Laws. They will not be permitted to practice in any Indian Courts of Law, Tribunals or any other Forum except "Arbitrators of Foreign matters".

The draft bill proposed a mandatory quota for women in State Bar Councils to ensure equitable gender representation in professional leadership. For larger State Bar Councils with electorates exceeding 10,000 members, the total council strength was expanded to 33 members, specifying a minimum of four elected women members and three co-opted women advocates. Additionally, a mechanism for co-opting representatives was introduced to address geographic disparities and ensure advocates from remote districts and taluka bars gained fair council representation.

It said, "For State Bar Councils with electorates exceeding ten thousand, the proposed strength is thirty-three members. Thirty members would be elected, including four women, and three additional women advocates would be co-opted by Bar Council of India in consultation with concerned State Bar Councils and Bar Associations...For State Bar Councils with electorates exceeding five thousand but not exceeding ten thousand, the proposed strength is twenty-one members. Nineteen members would be elected, including three women, and two additional women advocates would be co-opted in similar manner."

The Draft proposes a twenty-five-member Committee with representation from:

i. The Bar Council of India

ii. Former Judges of the Supreme Court

iii. Sitting or former Chief Justices of High Courts

iv. The Attorney General for India

V. The Solicitor General of India

vi. Advocates of standing

vii. The University Grants Commission

viii. The Department of Legal Affairs

ix. Leading Vice-Chancellors

x. Distinguished professors and deans

The proposed legislation established a statutory framework empowering the BCI and State Bar Councils to create dedicated welfare funds and trusts. These funds were designated to provide pensions, health insurance, emergency medical relief, stipends for junior lawyers, and structured financial support for indigent advocates, practitioners with disabilities, and dependents of deceased lawyers.

It expressly enables the creation of funds and trusts for:

i. financial assistance to deserving advocates

ii. insurance

iii. pension

iv. medical relief

v. Social Security Schemes

vi. support for indigent advocates

vii. assistance to advocates with disabilities

viii. support for dependants of advocates

ix. professional development programmes

X. law libraries

The BCI revised the statutory enrolment fee structure to 18,000 rupees payable to State Bar Councils and 4,500 rupees payable to the apex BCI. To promote accessibility, the bill introduced a 75% fee concession, requiring candidates from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and persons with benchmark disabilities to pay only one-fourth of the standard prescribed enrolment fee.

Demonstrating an intent to safeguard the autonomy of the organized bar, the 2026 draft omitted contentious clauses from previous iterations. The council deleted proposals that sought to impose heavy penalties for advocate strikes, removed severe monetary fines up to five lakh rupees for disciplinary infractions, and scrapped provisions that allowed government nominees on elected Bar Councils.

Click here to read/download the Draft Act

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