LexBAR COUNCIL OF UTTAR PRADESH versus STATE OF U.P. & ANOTHER
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A B c D E F ' G I H I 07 3 BAR COUNCIL OF UTTAR PRADESH v. STATE OF U.P. & ANOTHEP. December I, 1972 [A. N. GROVER, K. K. MATHEW AND A. K. MUKHERJEA, JJ.J Cvnstitutio11. of Jndia, 1950, Seventh Schedule, List /, ti.tries 77, 78, and 96; Li.rt //, e111ry 63 and List Ill, emry 44--U.P. amendment to Indian Stamp Act, 1899, levying stanzp duty on certificate of enrubnertt granted under s. 22 of Advocates Act, 1961-1/ constitutionally valid. Prior '" 1926, the enrolment of legal practitioners as advocat<s of Ch<>rtered High Courts, was under the Letters Patent, and, in the case of other High Courts, under s. 41 of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879. The Bar Councils Act was enacted in 1926. Under s. 8 of the Act, the High Court shall prepare and maintain a roll of advocates. A fee was payable to the B&r Council in the case of persons entitled as of right to practise in the High Coun immediately before the <late on which the section came into force and by others who were admitted as advocates under that Act, and, in respect of the entry on the roll of the High Court, a stamp duty was payable under art. 30 of the schedule to the Indian Stamp Act 1899. [1077 D-E; 1078 F] The Advocates Act, 1961, was enacted with the main objective of the integration of Bar into a single class of legal practitioners known as advocates and the prescription of uniform qualifications for the admis- sion of such persons to the profession. The name of an advocate was.- entered in the common roll of advocates prepared and maintained by the Bar Council of India, which was to comprise of entries made in all State rolls and the names ol advocates, entitled as of right to practise in the Supreme Court immediately before the appointed day, whose names were n0t entered in any State roll. Section 22 p:ovides that a cenificate of enrolment shall be issued by the State Bar Council to the advocate whose name is in the roll maintained by it, or by the Bar Coun- cil of Indiai when his name is entered in the Common roll without being entered in any State roll. Apart from fulfilling the qualifications and the conditior.s Ia.id down by the Act and the rules frarr,~d under it, the advocate had to pay, under s. 24 (P (f), an enrolment fee of Rs. 250/- to the State Bar Council. Under t~e Act, only that sum was payable; and even when an advocate desires to have his name ~ransferred from one State roll to another he could get it done without payment of any additional fee. The Act repealed s. 8 of the llar Councils Act. After the repeal of the relevant provisions of the Bar Councils Act, ""d the Legal Practitioners Act, relating to admission di advocates, art. 30 of the Indian Stamp Act, had become obsolute, but different States inserted provisions levying duty on the certific~te of enrolment granted under s. 22 of the Advocates Act. By the Indian Stamp (U.P. Amendment) Act. 1970, the stamp duty payable was prescribed at Rs. 250. [108! C-H: 1082 A-BJ . A writ i:>etition challenging the provision made by the SMe Legisla- ture imposing stamp duty no the certificate of enrolment to be issued bv the State Bar Council as invalid and unconstitutional in view of the pro- visi9n in tho Advocates Act which prescribes a fee of Rs. 250 /- only for enrolment as an advocate, was allowed. by a single Judge of th H' h Court. In appeal, the Bench set aside the judgment. e tg Dismissing the appeal to this C-Ourt, 1014 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1973] 2 S.C.R, HELD : (l l The levy of sir.mp duty by mean_s of the Stamp Ame~d ment Act in the State of U.P. was not covered" by any of t~ EntnC$ in List I and hence the State was competent to levy the duty and pres- scribe the rate under Entry 44, List m· lino ·Entry 63 of List II in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. [1086 CJ (a) So far as the persons entitled to practise before the Supreme Court or the High Court, the power to legislate in regard to them wa.s carved out from the general power in Entry 26, List JII. relating to 'Legal, Medical and other. professions', ~~d is_ made the ~xclusiv~ field 'for Parliament, under Entries 77 and 78 m Lost I. That IS, Parha.rnent has exclusive power to prescribe, inter a/ia, the qualifications and condi- tions on the fulfilment of which persons would be entitled to practise before the Supreme Court or the High Court. Any fee which may be payable b\' such persons before they c;;n claim to be entitled to practise
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