KSLU Solved Question Papers
Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 7
2016 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 7 Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System 2016 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2016 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2016 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2016 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2½ hours · Total marks 80 · 12 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1What is 'profession' ? Critically analyse the essential characteristics of 'profession' in the context of legal profession.[12]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what a profession is, and how it differs from a trade, a business and an employment (Roscoe Pound's description); the essential characteristics, each tested against the legal profession and the law that supports it (special learning, entry control, a monopoly, a code of ethics, self-regulation, a service motive, fiduciary relations, independence); a critical analysis of where the legal profession falls short today (commercialisation, advertising, strikes, uneven access); decided cases with facts and holding (Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dabholkar, V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan, Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa).
What a profession is
A profession is an occupation that requires advanced, specialised learning and is practised mainly to serve others. It works under a code of conduct enforced by its own members. Roscoe Pound, the American jurist, described it in a widely quoted phrase. For him a profession is a group pursuing a learned art as a common calling in the spirit of a public service. Earning a living is part of it, but not its main purpose.
A trade or business aims at profit and is judged by the market. An employment is work done under another's control for wages. A profession differs from both: the client cannot judge the work for himself, so the professional must be trustworthy, and the law makes him so.
The essential characteristics, tested against the legal profession
1. Specialised learning. A profession rests on a body of knowledge acquired by long study. For lawyers, section 24(1)(c) of the Advocates Act 1961 requires a law degree recognised by the Bar Council of India. Part VI Chapter III of its Rules adds the All India Bar Examination before practice.
2. Controlled entry. Only qualified persons may join. State Bar Councils admit advocates under sections 24 to 28, and section 24A bars persons convicted of offences involving moral turpitude.
3. A monopoly given by law. Section 29 recognises one class of persons entitled to practise law: advocates. Section 33 bars all others from practising, and section 45 punishes illegal practice.
4. A code of ethics. Every profession has its own standards. For advocates these are Part VI Chapter II of the Bar Council of India Rules, made under section 49(1)(c). Breach is misconduct under section 35.
5. Self-regulation. The profession governs itself through elected Bar Councils (sections 3 to 7) and their disciplinary committees.
6. Service before profit. Rule 46 calls free legal aid to the poor "one of the highest obligations an advocate owes to society". Rule 20 forbids fees depending on the result, and rule 36 forbids touting and advertising.
7. A fiduciary relationship. The client entrusts his secrets, papers and money to the advocate. Rules 17 and 24 to 33 protect that trust.
8. Independence and full-time commitment. Rules 47 to 49 bar business and salaried employment, so the advocate's judgment is his own and his attention undivided.
In Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, AIR 1996 SC 1708, a surgeon with a law degree sought enrolment while continuing his medical practice. The Supreme Court upheld the refusal. It said law "requires full time attention", and an advocate cannot ride "two horses or more at a time".
The law is not a trade
In Bar Council of Maharashtra v. M.V. Dabholkar, AIR 1976 SC 242, advocates in Bombay stood at the gates of the Magistrates' Courts, rushed at arriving litigants, snatched their briefs and undercut fees. The Bar Council of India's committee excused them on a narrow reading of rule 36. The Supreme Court corrected this. Justice Krishna Iyer wrote that because "a monopoly is statutorily granted by the nation", lawyers must keep norms worthy of public confidence. He added: "Law is no trade, briefs no merchandise". The leaven of commercial competition "should not vulgarise the legal profession".
In V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan, AIR 1979 SC 281, an advocate deceived an old deaf client and his wife about suits he never filed. The Supreme Court upheld the finding of gross misconduct. It said the goal of the lawyers' monopoly is not assured income but commitment to the people.
A critical analysis
Measured against these characteristics, the legal profession in India meets most of them in law, but falls short in practice in several ways.
- Commercialisation. Large law firms, high fees and competition for clients pull the profession towards business. In March 2025 the Bar Council of India had to warn advocates against advertising through social media, paid promotions and influencers.
- Strikes. A profession that serves the public should not shut the courts. Yet strikes continued for decades, until the Supreme Court in Ex-Capt. Harish Uppal (2002) and later cases declared them unlawful.
- Weak self-regulation. Disciplinary cases are slow, and the Supreme Court has more than once corrected lenient Bar Council orders, as in Dabholkar itself.
- Uneven access. Legal services remain costly for the poor, and legal aid depends heavily on the State under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987.
- Overcrowding and quality. The large number of entrants led the Bar Council to introduce the Bar Examination, upheld in 2023 in Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College.
On the other side, the profession has given India many of its constitutional leaders and protects liberty through bold advocacy. It has also built a strong tradition of public interest litigation. In it, lawyers take up the causes of prisoners, workers and the environment, often without fee.
Conclusion. A profession is a learned calling practised in a spirit of public service under its own code of ethics. In law, the legal profession has every essential characteristic. It has specialised learning, controlled entry, a statutory monopoly and a code of conduct. It also has self-regulation, a service motive, fiduciary duties and independence. Dabholkar and V.C. Rangadurai insist that law is no trade. Commercialisation, strikes and weak discipline show the gap between the ideal and practice, which the Bar Councils and courts keep trying to close.
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