(1) There shall be a Bar Council—

(a) for each of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, ¹[Jammu and Kashmir], ²[Jharkhand], ³[Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh], ⁴***, ⁵***, ⁶[Karnataka], Orissa, ⁷[Rajasthan, Telangana ⁸[Uttar Pradesh], ⁹[Uttaranchal, Meghalya, Manipur and Tripura]] to be known as the Bar Council of that State;

¹⁰[(b) for the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland to be known as the Bar Council of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland;]

(c) for the State of Kerala and the Union territory of ¹¹[Lakshadweep] to be known as the Bar Council of Kerala;

¹²(cc) for the ¹³[State of Tamil Nadu] and the Union territory of Pondicherry to be known as the Bar Council of Madras;]

¹⁴[(ccc) for the States of Maharashtra and Goa and the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and and Daman and Diu, to be known as the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa;]

¹⁵[(d) for the States of Punjab and Haryana and the Union territory of Chandigarh, to be known as the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana;

(dd) for the State of Himachal Pradesh, to be known as the Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh;]

(e) for the State of West Bengal and the ¹⁶[Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands], to be known as the Bar Council of West Bengal; and

(f) for the Union territory of Delhi, to be known as the Bar Council of Delhi.

(2) A State Bar Council shall consist of the following members, namely:

(a) in the case of the State Bar Council of Delhi, the Additional Solicitor-General of India, ex officio; ¹⁷[¹⁸[in the case of the State Bar Councils of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, the Advocate-General of each of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh , Mizoram and Nagaland] ex officio; in the case of the State Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, the Advocate-General of each of the States of Punjab and Haryana, ex officio;] and in the case of any other State Bar Council, the Advocate-General of the State, ex officio;

¹⁹[(b) in the case of a State Bar Council with an electorate not exceeding five thousand, fifteen members, in the case of a State Bar Council with an electorate exceeding five thousand but not exceeding ten thousand, twenty members, and in the case of a State Bar Council with an electorate exceeding ten thousand, twenty-five members, elected in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote from amongst advocates on the electoral roll of the State Bar Council:]

²⁰[Provided that as nearly as possible one-half of such elected members shall, subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf by the Bar Council of India, be persons who have for at least ten years been advocates on a State roll, and in computing the said period of ten years in relation to any such person, there shall be included any period during which the person has been an advocate enrolled under the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926 (38 of 1926).]

²¹[(3) There shall be a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman of each State Bar Council elected by the Council in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3A) Every person holding office as Chairman or as Vice-Chairman of any State Bar Council immediately before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 (38 of 1977), shall, on such commencement, cease to hold office as Chairman or Vice-Chairman, as the case may be:

Provided that every such person shall continue to carry on the duties of his office until the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be, of each State Bar Council, elected after the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1977 (38 of 1977), assumes charges of the office.]

²¹[(4) An advocate shall be disqualified from voting at an election under sub-section (2) or for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a State Bar Council, unless he possesses such qualifications or satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed in this behalf by the Bar Council of India, and subject to any such rules that may be made, an electoral roll shall be prepared and revised from time to time by each State Bar Council.

(5) Nothing in the proviso to sub-section (2) shall affect the term of office of any member elected before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1964 (21 of 1964), but every election after such commencement shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the rules made by the Bar Council of India to give effect to the said proviso.]

²²[(6) Nothing in clause (b) of sub-section (2) shall affect the representation of elected members in any State Bar Council as constituted immediately before the commencement of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1973 (60 of 1973), until that State Bar Council is reconstituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.]


1. Ins. by Act 60 of 1973, s. 4 (w.e.f. 31-1-1974).
2. Ins. by Act 30 of 2000, s. 28 (w.e.f. 15-11-2000).
3. Subs. by Act 28 of 2000, s.24, for "and Madhya Pradesh " (w.e.f. 1-11-2000).
4. The word "Madras " omitted by Act 26 of 1968, s. 3 and Sch. 4.
5. The word "Maharashtra " omitted by Reg. 8 of 1963, s. 12 (w.e.f. 1-7-1965).
6. Subs. by the Mysore State (Alteration of Name) (Adaptation of Laws on Union Subjects) Order, 1974, for "Mysore " (w.e.f. 1-11-1973).
7. Subs. by Act 6 of 2014, s. 34, for "Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh " (w.e.f. 2-6-2014).br 8. Subs. by Act 29 of 2000, s. 29, for "and Uttar Pradesh " (w.e.f. 9-11-2000).
9. Subs. by Act 26 of 2012, s. 9, for "and Uttaranchal " (w.e.f. 23-3-2013).
10. Subs. by Acts 26 of 2012, s. 9, for clause (b) (w.e.f .23-3-2013).
11. Subs. by "the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Alteration of Name) Act, 1973 (34 of 1973), s. 5, for the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands " (w.e.f. 1-11-1973).
12. Ins. by Act 26 of 1968, s. 3 and the Sch.
13. Subs. by the Madras State (Alteration of Name) (Adaptation of Laws on Union Subjects) Order, 1970, for "State of Madras " (w.e.f. 14- 1-1969).
14. Subs. by Act 18 of 1987, s. 21, for clause (ccc) (w.e.f. 30-5-1987).
15. Subs. by Act 53 of 1970, s. 24, for clause (d) (w.e.f. 25-1-1971).
16. Subs. by Act 81 of 1971, s. 34, for "Union territories of Tripura and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands " (w.e.f. 21-1-1972).
17. Ins. by Act 60 of 1973, s. 4 (w.e.f. 31-1-1974).
18. Subs. by Act 26 of 2012, s. 9, for "in the case of the State Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, the Advocate-General of each of the States of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura " (w.e.f. 23-3-2013).
19. Subs. by Act 60 of 1973, s. 4, for clause (b) (w.e.f. 31-1-1974).
20. Ins. by Act 21 of 1964, s. 2 (w.e.f. 16-5-1964).
21. Subs. by Act 38 of 1977, s. 2, for sub-sections (3) and (3A) (w.e.f. 31-10-1977).
22. Ins. by Act 60 of 1973, s. 4 (w.e.f. 31-1-1974).