The Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body established under Section 4 of the Advocates Act, 1961, serving as the apex regulatory and representative institution for the legal profession in India. Its creation in 1961 was a direct result of the recommendations made by the All India Bar Committee, headed by S. R. Das, which submitted its report in March 1953. The BCI was formed to solve the problem of fragmented regulation and to consolidate the laws relating to legal practitioners, ensuring an all-India bar with uniform standards for professional conduct and legal education.
The mechanism of the BCI is detailed in Section 7 of the Advocates Act, 1961, which outlines its functions. It lays down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the Bar. A key function is the promotion and regulation of legal education, including setting standards and granting recognition to universities whose law degrees qualify a student for enrolment. To ensure professional competence, the BCI conducts the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), which a state-enrolled advocate must pass to receive a 'Certificate of Practice' and practice law throughout India.
The BCI is intrinsically connected to the State Bar Councils, over which it exercises general supervision and control. The Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India are ex officio members of the BCI. A significant change was the introduction of the AIBE in 2010, which fundamentally altered the process of entering the legal profession by making a qualifying examination mandatory. More recently, the BCI has been active in regulating professional conduct by issuing warnings against unethical legal advertising and misleading social media promotions.