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Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 7
2016 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 7 Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System 2016 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2016 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2016 Jun 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 Jun 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 · 13 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.
Q1Discuss the rules in relation to qualification, disqualification and enrollment of advocate with relevant cases.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the framework (Chapter III of the Advocates Act 1961, sections 16 to 28, with sections 29 and 33); the qualifications in section 24(1)(a), (b), (c), (e) and (f), and the omitted clause (d); the disqualifications (section 24A with its Explanation, proviso and sub-section (2), the State Bar Council's rules under section 28, rule 49 on employment); the enrolment procedure step by step (sections 25, 26, 27, 17, 22, 18 and 26A); the All India Bar Examination; decided cases with facts and holding (Indian Council of Legal Aid and Advice v. Bar Council of India, Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Satish Kumar Sharma v. Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh, Mahipal Singh Rana v. State of Uttar Pradesh, Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College, Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India).
The framework
Section 29 of the Advocates Act 1961 makes advocates the only class of persons entitled to practise law. Section 33 bars anyone not enrolled from practising in any court. Enrolment is therefore the only gateway to the profession. Chapter III of the Act, sections 16 to 28, governs it.
Three sets of rules work together. The Act lays down the qualifications and the disqualifications. The State Bar Councils may add conditions by rules under section 28. The Bar Council of India may prescribe the class of persons entitled to be enrolled, under section 49(1)(ag).
The qualifications: section 24(1)
Section 24(1) says that, "subject to the provisions of this Act, and the rules made thereunder", a person is qualified to be admitted if he meets these conditions.
- Citizenship (clause (a)). He must be a citizen of India. By the proviso, a foreign national may be admitted if Indian citizens, duly qualified, may practise law in his country. This is the rule of reciprocity.
- Age (clause (b)). He must have completed twenty-one years. There is no upper age limit in the Act.
- Law degree (clause (c)). He must hold a degree in law from a University recognised by the Bar Council of India. Some older and foreign qualifications are also recognised. A degree is treated as obtained on the date the University publishes the result.
- Clause (d) is omitted. It once required training and an examination conducted by the State Bar Councils. The Advocates (Amendment) Act 1973 removed it with effect from 31 January 1974.
- State conditions (clause (e)). He must meet any other conditions in the State Bar Council's rules.
- Fee (clause (f)). He must pay any stamp duty and the enrolment fee. The fee is Rs 600 to the State Bar Council and Rs 150 to the Bar Council of India, by bank draft. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe applicants pay Rs 100 and Rs 25.
Section 24(3) also allows certain older classes, such as former vakils, pleaders and mukhtars, to be admitted. They must meet clauses (a), (b), (e) and (f).
The disqualifications
Section 24A. No person shall be admitted as an advocate:
- if he is convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude;
- if he is convicted of an offence under the Untouchability (Offences) Act 1955, now the Protection of Civil Rights Act;
- if he is dismissed or removed from employment or office under the State on a charge involving moral turpitude. "State" has the meaning in Article 12 of the Constitution.
By the proviso, the disqualification ends two years after his release, dismissal or removal. By section 24A(2), it does not apply to a person found guilty but dealt with under the Probation of Offenders Act 1958.
Other occupations. State Bar Councils' rules commonly bar persons engaged in another trade, business or profession. The Bar Council of India's rule 49 adds a further bar. An advocate may not be a full-time salaried employee of any person, firm, corporation or government while he practises.
What cannot be a disqualification. A Bar Council cannot invent a new disqualification by a rule. Parliament itself had to amend the Act to add section 24A.
Cases on qualification and disqualification
No upper age limit. In Indian Council of Legal Aid and Advice v. Bar Council of India, AIR 1995 SC 691, decided on 17 January 1995, the Bar Council of India had added a rule in 1993. It said that no person who had completed forty-five years on the date of applying should be enrolled. The aim was to keep out retired government servants who might use old contacts to canvass for work. The Supreme Court struck the rule down on two grounds.
- Beyond the rule-making power. Section 49(1)(ag) lets the Council say which class of persons is "entitled" to be enrolled, not which is disentitled. The rule in effect added an age ceiling to section 24, or a new disqualification to section 24A. Only Parliament can do that.
- Article 14. There was no data to support the fear. The rule was also discriminatory. It barred new entrants over forty-five while letting older persons who had enrolled young revive their sanads and practise.
Another profession. In Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, AIR 1996 SC 1708, a practising surgeon took a law degree in 1991 and applied for enrolment. He insisted on continuing his medical practice. The enrolment committee refused him under the State rule barring a person "engaged in any trade, business or profession". The Supreme Court upheld the rule as a reasonable restriction under Article 19(6). The legal profession "requires full time attention" and does not allow an advocate to ride "two horses or more at a time". He "has to be full time advocate or not at all".
Salaried employment. In Satish Kumar Sharma v. Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh, decided on 3 January 2001, a law officer of the State Electricity Board was enrolled in 1984 on the Board's orders. He drew a salary under service rules, and his duties were not mainly to act or plead in court. In 1996 the State Bar Council withdrew his enrolment. The Supreme Court held the enrolment "non-est" because rule 49 barred him. Its withdrawal was not a punishment under section 35, and promissory estoppel could not help him. He could apply afresh if he left the employment.
After enrolment. In Mahipal Singh Rana v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 2016 SC 3302, an advocate was convicted of criminal contempt for threatening a judge in his own court. The Supreme Court held that section 24A applies "at the post enrollment stage also". His enrolment stood suspended for two years under it, with a further five years' suspension under section 38.
The procedure, step by step
- Application (section 25). The applicant applies in the prescribed form to the State Bar Council within whose area he proposes to practise.
- Enrolment committee (section 26(1)). The State Bar Council refers every application to its enrolment committee, which decides it.
- Reference before refusal (section 26(2) and (3)). If the committee proposes to refuse, it must refer the application, with its grounds, to the Bar Council of India. It must then decide in conformity with that Council's opinion.
- Intimation of refusal (section 26(4)). A refusal, with reasons, is notified to all other State Bar Councils.
- No second chance elsewhere (section 27). No other State Bar Council may entertain a refused application. The exception is the written consent of the refusing State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India.
- Entry on the roll (section 17). The name is entered on the State roll. A person may be on only one State roll (section 17(4)).
- Certificate (section 22). The State Bar Council issues a certificate of enrolment.
- Seniority. For a person admitted under the Act, it runs from the date of admission (section 17(3)(d)).
- Transfer (section 18). An advocate may apply to the Bar Council of India to transfer his name to another State roll.
- Removal (section 26A). A name may be removed on death or on request. The Bar Council of India may remove a name entered by fraud or misrepresentation, after a hearing.
The All India Bar Examination
The examination rules are rules 9 to 11 of Part VI Chapter III of the Bar Council of India Rules. An advocate enrolled under section 24 may not practise until he passes the All India Bar Examination. It is held at least twice a year, with no limit on attempts.
In V. Sudeer v. Bar Council of India (1999) the Supreme Court had struck down a rule on pre-enrolment training and examination. In Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College, decided on 10 February 2023, a Constitution Bench held that V. Sudeer was wrong on this point. Section 49(1)(ag), read with the opening words of section 24(1), lets the Bar Council of India prescribe an examination. The Court left it to the Council whether to hold it before or after enrolment. It suggested that students in their final semester be allowed to take it. On 20 September 2024 the Supreme Court, by an interim order, directed that final-semester students be allowed to sit the examination of November 2024.
The fee
In Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India, decided on 30 July 2024, State Bar Councils were collecting large sums under various heads as a condition of enrolment. The Supreme Court held that they cannot charge anything beyond the stamp duty and enrolment fee fixed by section 24(1)(f). The excess violated Articles 14 and 19(1)(g). The ruling was prospective, without refunds.
Conclusion. A citizen of twenty-one with a recognised law degree, who meets the State rules and pays the fee in section 24(1)(f), is qualified for enrolment. He is disqualified for two years by a conviction involving moral turpitude, or dismissal from State service on such a charge, under section 24A. State rules and rule 49 add that he must not follow another profession or salaried employment. The enrolment committee decides, but may refuse only after consulting the Bar Council of India. The courts have struck down an upper age limit (Indian Council of Legal Aid) and upheld full-time practice (Haniraj L. Chulani, Satish Kumar Sharma). They have applied section 24A after enrolment (Mahipal Singh Rana). They have also upheld the Bar Examination (Bonnie Foi) and capped the fee (Gaurav Kumar).
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