Section 58AB of the Advocates Act, 1961: Certain Enrolments by Mysore State Bar Council
Section 58AB is a temporary and transitional provision that validates a defined group of advocate enrolments made by the former Mysore State Bar Council during 1963-1964 and prescribes consequences for transfer to another State roll and for seniority.
- It applies to specified admissions made between 28 February 1963 and 31 March 1964.
- The relevant persons were admitted on the basis of certificates of pleadership issued by the High Court of Mysore.
- The provision validates those admissions notwithstanding contrary provisions, judgments, decrees, court orders, Bar Council of India resolutions, or directions.
- If a covered person elected enrolment with another State Bar Council, the Mysore roll is treated as having been struck off from the date of the later enrolment.
- For seniority under Section 17(3)(d), 16 May 1964 is treated as the date of admission.
Statutory text of Section 58AB
58AB. Special provisions with respect to certain persons enrolled by Mysore State Bar Council.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any judgment, decree or order of any court or any resolution passed or direction given by the Bar Council of India, every person who was admitted as an advocate on the State roll by the State Bar Council of Mysore during the period beginning with the 28th day of February, 1963, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1964, on the basis of his having obtained a certificate of pleadership from the High Court of Mysore, shall, save as otherwise provided, be deemed to have been validly admitted as an advocate on that State roll and accordingly entitled to practise the profession of law (whether by way of pleading or acting or both):
Provided that where any such person has elected to be enrolled as an advocate on the roll of any other State Bar Council, his name shall be deemed to have been struck off the roll of the State Bar Council of Mysore from the date he was enrolled by the other State Bar Council:
Provided further that the seniority of such person, whether his name is borne on the State roll of the State Bar Council of Mysore, or on the State roll of any other Bar Council, shall, for the purposes of clause (d) of sub-section (3) of section 17, be determined by reckoning the 16th day of May, 1964, as the date of admission.
Official text: Advocates Act, 1961 on India Code.
What Section 58AB means
The section is a validating provision. Its opening words, "Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any judgment, decree or order of any court or any resolution passed or direction given by the Bar Council of India", give it overriding effect within its defined field. The legal object is to protect the validity of a specific historical class of enrolments that might otherwise have been questioned.
1. Persons covered by the provision
A person falls within Section 58AB only if the statutory conditions are satisfied. The person must have been admitted as an advocate on the State roll by the State Bar Council of Mysore during the period from 28 February 1963 to 31 March 1964 and the admission must have been based on a certificate of pleadership obtained from the High Court of Mysore.
2. Deemed validity of admission
For persons within that class, Parliament directs that the admission is deemed to have been valid. The effect of a deeming provision is to require the stated legal consequence to be treated as true for the purpose for which the fiction is created. Here, the enrolment is treated as valid and the person is correspondingly entitled to practise the profession of law, subject to the provisos.
3. Effect of enrolment with another State Bar Council
The first proviso addresses a person who elected to be enrolled with another State Bar Council. In that situation, the person's name is deemed to have been struck off the Mysore State Bar Council roll from the date of enrolment by the other State Bar Council. The proviso therefore prevents simultaneous reliance on the protected Mysore enrolment after a later State enrolment takes effect.
4. Seniority and Section 17(3)(d)
The second proviso fixes a uniform deemed admission date of 16 May 1964 for determining seniority for the purposes of Section 17(3)(d) of the Advocates Act, 1961. Section 17 deals with the State Bar Council's duty to prepare and maintain a roll of advocates, and clause (d) of sub-section (3) concerns the order of seniority of advocates entered in the State roll.
Key legal expressions used in Section 58AB
| Expression | Meaning in this provision |
|---|---|
| Notwithstanding | An overriding formula indicating that Section 58AB applies despite inconsistent provisions or the specified contrary legal or institutional decisions. |
| State roll | The roll of advocates prepared and maintained by the relevant State Bar Council under Section 17 of the Advocates Act, 1961. |
| Deemed to have been validly admitted | A statutory legal fiction requiring the specified historical admissions to be treated as valid, subject to the section. |
| Certificate of pleadership | The historical qualification identified by Section 58AB as the basis on which the covered persons were admitted by the Mysore State Bar Council. |
| Seniority | For the persons protected by Section 58AB, seniority for Section 17(3)(d) is calculated by treating 16 May 1964 as the date of admission. |
Historical reference to Mysore
Section 58AB retains the historical statutory expressions "State Bar Council of Mysore" and "High Court of Mysore" because the provision concerns enrolments made during a specific period in 1963-1964. The modern name of the State does not alter the wording or the historical operation of the provision.
Related provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961
Section 58AB appears in Chapter VII, titled "Temporary and Transitional Provisions". Closely related provisions include Section 58A, Section 58AA, Section 58AC, and Section 58AD.
Frequently asked questions
Does Section 58AB apply to every advocate formerly enrolled in Mysore?
No. Its protection is confined to the class specifically described in the section, including the statutory enrolment period and the requirement that admission was based on a certificate of pleadership from the High Court of Mysore.
Does Section 58AB validate an enrolment despite a contrary court order or Bar Council of India direction?
Within the scope of the section, yes. Its non-obstante clause expressly refers to judgments, decrees, court orders, Bar Council of India resolutions, and directions.
What date is used for seniority?
For the purpose specified in Section 17(3)(d), the statute requires 16 May 1964 to be treated as the date of admission.