Supreme Court Weighs National Digital Registry to Curb Fake Lawyers

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a proposal for a national digital registry for lawyers, modeled on Aadhaar, after the Bar Association of India revealed that one in three practicing lawyers across the country may be unqualified. Appearing before a bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant and Justice V. Mohan, advocates Prashant Kumar and Vipin Nair cited a recent statement from the Bar Association's president that 35 to 40 percent of lawyers in Indian courts lack genuine degrees. They argued that this widespread fraud threatens the judicial independence of the legal profession.

The court noted that the Bar Council of India's ongoing verification campaign is only a temporary measure to tackle the racket. The petitioners urged the creation of a permanent, technology-driven infrastructure — a National Digital Registry — to authenticate lawyers. The Chief Justice suggested that universities granting law degrees must be integrated into this system. He proposed that institutions disclose lists of genuine graduates eligible to practice in courts, ensuring only qualified individuals enter the profession.

Seeking broader input, the bench called for opinions from the central government, the Bar Council of India, the University Grants Commission, and state bar councils on the public interest petition. The move aims to establish a robust mechanism to verify credentials, replacing ad-hoc checks with a centralized digital platform. For coastal Karnataka's legal community, this development signals potential reforms to safeguard the integrity of the bar and protect litigants from unqualified practitioners.

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📰 Source: Udupi Times