Representative image.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) said the independence of lawyers is just as important as the independence of the judiciary. In fact, the court said the legal profession’s independence from the Executive and Legislature formed the foundation of the rule of law and democracy in the country.
The court’s observation is of significance as appointments to the Bench is made from the legal profession.
“Independence of the Bar constitutes an indispensable condition for preservation of the rule of law,” a Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha observed in a judgment.
Justice Narasimha, who authored the judgment, said the independence of the legal profession was secured by the principle of self-regulation.
“The principle of self-regulation has historically been regarded as the defining feature of independence of the legal profession. The idea underlying such autonomy is that advocates, as officers of the court and participants in the administration of justice, must remain insulated from external pressures,” Justice Narasimha wrote.
The court said pendency mounting up across courts was “one of the greatest challenges to the justice delivery system”, but the judgment queried why backlog continued to be seen almost exclusively as a judicial responsibility.
“Despite frequent references to the Bar and Bench as the ‘two wheels of the chariot of justice’, the Bar is seldom called upon to share responsibility for reducing delays and improving efficiency. A paradigm shift is necessary. Tackling pendency must become a collaborative mission of the Bench and the Bar,” the Supreme Court underscored in the judgment.
Justice Narasimha proposed the establishment of a full-time ‘National Legal Academy’ on the same lines as the National Judicial Academy. It highlighted the need for the ‘continuing legal education’ of advocates, noting that there was a “glaring dearth in institutionalised learning for advocates after enrolment”. It said a legal academy to school lawyers would do as well as the judges’ academy, which engages in training and capacity-building for judges.
The court also directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to undertake a “comprehensive performance audit” of the disciplinary mechanisms administered by it and the State Bar Councils and submit a report.
The judgment gave relief to a lawyer who was included in the ‘caution list’ by the Indian Banks Association on the ground that he gave negligent legal advice to a bank, exposing it to financial risk. Terming the Association’s action unsustainable in law, the court said a caution list only operated in cases of serious misconduct, and not in cases of alleged professional misjudgments.
Besides, the court said the Association had no power to virtually “blacklist” a lawyer. It observed that the Advocates Act of 1961 confers lawyers with professional autonomy through self-regulation, adding that lawyers are subject to structured disciplinary oversight only through the State Bar Councils and the BCI.
However, the court acknowledged concerns expressed by banks and financial institutions regarding diligence, quality and reliability of legal opinions furnished by advocates. Justice Narasimha said the solution lay in strengthening the existing regulatory mechanisms contemplated under the 1961 Act.
The Bench listed the case next on August 31.
Published – July 07, 2026 10:32 pm IST
