Section 58 of the Advocates Act, 1961 - Special Provisions During the Transitional Period

Section 58 of the Advocates Act, 1961 contains temporary and transitional arrangements that governed enrolment, rights of practice and renewal of certain legal-practitioner certificates while the institutional framework created by the Act was being brought into operation.

Current legal context: Section 58 remains part of Chapter VII of the Advocates Act, 1961. Its repeated references to the period "until Chapter IV comes into force" are transitional in character. Sections 29, 31, 33 and 34 of Chapter IV were brought into force on June 1, 1969, and Section 30 was brought into force on June 15, 2011.

What does Section 58 provide?

The provision was designed to prevent a legal or administrative vacuum during the changeover from the earlier system of High Court rolls and legal practitioners to the State Bar Council and all-India advocate system established by the Advocates Act, 1961.

Text of Section 58

58. Special provisions during the transitional period.

(1) Where a State Bar Council has not been constituted under this Act or where a State Bar Council so constituted is unable to perform its functions by reason of any order of a court or otherwise, the functions of that Bar Council or of any committee thereof, in so far as they relate to the admission and enrolment of advocates, shall be performed by the High Court in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2) Until Chapter IV comes into force, a State Bar Council or a High Court performing the functions of a State Bar Council may enrol any person to be an advocate on a State roll, if he is qualified to be so enrolled under this Act, notwithstanding that no rules have been made under section 28 or that the rules so made have not been approved by the Bar Council of India, and every person so enrolled shall, until that Chapter comes into force, be entitled to all the rights of practice conferred on an advocate under section 14 of the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926 (38 of 1926).

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, every person who, immediately before the 1st day of December, 1961, was an advocate on the roll of any High Court under the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926 (38 of 1926), or who has been enrolled as an advocate under this Act shall, until Chapter IV comes into force, be entitled as of right to practise in the Supreme Court, subject to the rules made by the Supreme Court in this behalf.

(4) Notwithstanding the repeal by sub-section (2) of section 50 of the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 (18 of 1879) or of the Bombay Pleaders Act, 1920 (Bombay Act 17 of 1920) or of any other law relating to the admission and enrolment of legal practitioners, the provisions of the Acts and law aforesaid and any rules made thereunder in so far as they relate to the renewal or the issue by way of renewal of a certificate to a legal practitioner authorising him to practise shall have effect until Chapter IV comes into force and, accordingly, every certificate issued or renewed to a legal practitioner (who is not enrolled as an advocate under this Act) which is or purports to be issued or renewed under the provisions of either of the aforesaid Acts or of the other law during the period beginning with the 1st day of December, 1961 and ending with the date on which Chapter IV comes into force, shall be deemed to have been validly issued or renewed.

Clause-wise explanation of Section 58

Section 58(1): High Court may perform enrolment functions

Sub-section (1) addresses a situation in which a State Bar Council has not yet been constituted or cannot perform its functions because of a court order or another disabling circumstance. In such a situation, the High Court performs the functions relating to the admission and enrolment of advocates under the Advocates Act.

Section 58(2): Enrolment before Chapter IV became operative

Sub-section (2) permitted enrolment on a State roll during the transitional period even if rules under Section 28 of the Advocates Act, 1961 had not yet been made or approved by the Bar Council of India. It also preserved specified rights of practice under Section 14 of the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926 until Chapter IV came into force.

Section 58(3): Transitional right to practise in the Supreme Court

Sub-section (3) protected the right of persons who were advocates on High Court rolls immediately before December 1, 1961, and persons enrolled under the Advocates Act, to practise in the Supreme Court during the transitional period, subject to Supreme Court rules.

Section 58(4): Validity of renewed practice certificates

Sub-section (4) preserved, for the transition period, provisions governing renewal of certificates under repealed or superseded laws. It further deemed certificates issued or renewed between December 1, 1961 and the commencement of Chapter IV to have been validly issued or renewed where the statutory conditions were satisfied.

Important related provisions

Section 58 should be read with Section 50, which repealed specified earlier enactments, and Section 57, which provided for rule-making before the constitution of a Bar Council. It also sits alongside the other temporary and transitional provisions in Chapter VII.

Why Section 58 still matters

Although much of Section 58 dealt with a historical transition, it remains relevant when interpreting legacy enrolments, practice rights, certificates or proceedings that arose during the statutory transition to the Advocates Act framework. The provision also illustrates how Parliament preserved continuity while replacing earlier laws governing advocates, pleaders and other legal practitioners.

Official legal source

For the current consolidated text of the Advocates Act, 1961, refer to the Advocates Act, 1961 on India Code.