History

The Indian Law & A Lawyer in India Brief History of Law in India

Law in India has evolved from religious prescription to the current constitutional and legal system we have today, traversing through secular legal systems and the common law.

Secular law in India varied widely from region to region and from ruler to ruler. ourt systems for civil and criminal matters were essential features of many ruling dynasties of ancient India. !"cellent secular court systems e"isted under the #auryas $%'(')* B!+ and the #ughals $' th  - 'th centuries+ with the latter giving way to the current common law system.

Law in British(ruled India

The common law system - a system of law /ased on recorded 0udicial precedents( came to India with the British British !ast India ompany. ompany. The company was granted granted charter /y 1ing 2eorge I in '3 to esta/lish 4#ayor5s ourts6 in #adras, Bom/ay and alcutta $now hennai, #um/ai and 1ol7ata respectively+. 8udicial functions of the company e"panded su/stantially after its victory in Battle of 9lassey and  /y '33 company5s co mpany5s courts e"panded out from the three ma0or cities. In the process, the company slowly replaced the e"isting #ughal legal system in those parts.

:ollowing the :irst ;ar of Independence in ')*3, the control of company territories in India  passed to the th e British rown. Being part of the empire saw the ne"t /ig shift in the Indian legal system. Supreme courts were esta/lished replacing the e"isting mayoral courts. These courts were converted to the first High ourts through letters of patents authoriegulations  passed /y the British 2overnment, would /e admitted to plead in the ourts. They should /e su/0ected to rules and restrictions in order to discharge their wor7 diligently and faithfully /y upholding the client5s trust.

!sta/lishment of the High ourts

In '), the High ourts started /y the rown were esta/lished at alcutta, Bom/ay and #adras. The High ourt Bench was designed to com/ine Supreme ourt and Sudder ourt traditions. This was done to unite the legal learning and 0udicial e"perience of the !nglish  /arristers with the intimate e"perience of civil servants in matters of Indian customs, usages and laws possessed /y the civil servants. !ach of the High ourts was given the power to ma7e rules for the ?ualifications of proper persons, advocates, va7ils and attorneys at Bar. The admission of  va7ils to practice /efore the High ourts ended the monopoly that the /arristers had en0oyed in the Supreme ourts. It greatly e"tended the practice and prestige of the Indian laws /y giving them opportunities and privileges e?ual to those en0oyed for many years /y the !nglish lawyers.

The learning of the /est British traditions of Indian va7ils /egan in a guru(shishya traditionF

4#en li7e Sir C. Bashyam Ayyangar, Sir T. #uthuswamy Ayyar and Sir S. Su/ramania Ayyar  were ?uic7 to learn and a/sor/ the traditions of the !nglish Bar from their !nglish friends and colleagues in the #adras Bar and they in turn as the originators of a long line of disciples in the Bar passed on those traditions to the disciples who continued to do the good wor7.6

Additional High ourts were esta/lished in Allaha/ad $'))+, 9atna $''+, and Lahore $'' +.

There were si" grades of legal practice in India after the founding of the High ourts - a+ Advocates, /+ Attorneys $Solicitors+, c+ Ca7ils of High ourts, d+ 9leaders, e+ #u7htars, f+ >evenue Agents. The Legal 9ractitioners Act of ')3 in fact /rought all the si" grades of the  profession into one system under the 0urisdiction of the High ourts. The Legal 9ractitioners Act and the Letters 9atent of the High ourts formed the chief legislative governance of legal  practitioners in the su/ordinate ourts in the country until the Advocates Act, '' was enacted.

In order to /e a va7il, the candidate had to study at a college or university, master the use of  !nglish and pass a va7il5s e"amination. By '@, a va7il was re?uired to /e a graduate with an LL.B. from a university in India in addition to three other certified re?uirements. The certificate should /e proof that a. he had passed in the e"amination /. read in the cham/er of a ?ualified lawyer and was of a good character. In fact, Sir Sunder Lal, 8ogendra Dath haudhary, >am 9rasad and #oti Lal Dehru were all va7ils who were raised to the ran7 of an Advocate.

Original and appellate jurisdiction of the High Court

The High ourts of the three presidency towns had an original side. The original side included ma0or civil and criminal matters which had /een earlier heard /y predecessor Supreme ourts. En the original side in the High ourts, the solicitor and /arrister remained distinct i.e. attorney and advocate. En the appellate side every lawyer practiced as his own attorney.

However, in #adras the va7ils started practice since '). In ')3@, the /arristers challenged their right to do original side wor7. However, in '', this right was firmly esta/lished in favour  of the va7ils. Similarly, va7ils in Bom/ay and alcutta could /e promoted as advocates and  /ecome ?ualified to wor7 on the original side. By attending the appellate side and original side ourts each for one year, a va7il of ' years service in the ourt was permitted to sit for the advocates5 e"amination. Indian Bar ouncils Act, '.

The Indian Bar ouncils Act, ' was passed to unify the various grades of legal practice and to provide self(government to the Bars attached to various ourts. The Act re?uired that each High ourt must constitute a Bar ouncil made up of the Advocate 2eneral, four men nominated  /y the High ourt of whom two should /e 8udges and ten elected from among the advocates of  the Bar. The duties of the Bar ouncil were to decide all matters concerning legal education, ?ualification for enrolment, discipline and control of the profession. It was favoura/le to the advocates as it gave them authority previously held /y the 0udiciary to regulate the mem/ership and discipline of their profession.

The Advocates Act, '' was a step to further this very initiative. As a result of the Advocates Act, admission, practice, ethics, privileges, regulations, discipline and improvement of the  profession as well as law reform are now significantly in the hands of the profession itself.

A/out the legal 9rofession

The Supreme ourt is the highest constitutional court and appellate 0udicial authority in India. High ourts e"ercise 0urisdiction over a state or a set of states. =istrict courts and several other  lower courts operate under their am/it.

Thousands of lawyers graduate every year from almost  law colleges spread across the country. The ma0ority of India5s large legal profession represents clients in courts and other   0udicial /odies, wor7ing either individually or in a family(run concern.

Today, several large law firms operate mostly from the ma0or commercial centres, providing advice on transactions. #any lawyers have also /een employed /y industry to wor7 in(house. Legal process outsourcing has also received a great amount of attention during the last few years.

Source F (