Rule 1(b) of Supreme Court Rules, 2013 provides that no advocate other than the Advocate-on-record for a party shall appear, plead and address the Court in a matter unless he is instructed by the advocate-on-record or permitted by the Court.
Qualification to be Advocate on Record
Rule 5 of Order IV lays down the qualifications of an advocate to be registered as an advocate-on-record. Rules 7 and 10 of Order IV are relevant, which read thus:
“7. (a) An advocate-on-record shall, on his filing a memorandum of appearance on behalf of a party accompanied by a vakalatnama duly executed by the party, be entitled—
(i) to act as well as to plead for the party in the matter and to conduct and prosecute before the Court all proceedings that may be taken in respect of the said matter or any application connected with the same or any decree or order passed therein including proceedings in taxation and applications for review; and
(ii) to deposit and receive money on behalf of the said party.
(b)(i) Where the vakalatnama is executed in the presence of the Advocate-on-Record, he shall certify that it was executed in his presence.
(ii) Where the Advocate-on-Record merely accepts the vakalatnama which is already duly executed in the presence of a Notary or an advocate, he shall make an endorsement thereon that he has satisfied himself about the due execution of the vakalatnama.
(c) No advocate other than an advocate-on-record shall be entitled to file an appearance or act for a party in the Court.
(d) Every advocate-on-record shall keep such books of account as may be necessary to show and distinguish in connection with his practice as an advocate-on-record—
(i) moneys received from or on account of and the moneys paid to or on account of each of his clients; and
(ii) the moneys received and the moneys paid on his own account.
(e) Every advocate-on-record shall, before taxation of the Bill of Costs, file with the Taxing Officer a certificate showing the amount of fee paid to him or agreed to be paid to him by his client.
When, on the complaint of any person or otherwise, the Court is of the opinion that an advocate-on-record has been guilty of misconduct or of conduct unbecoming of an advocate-on-record, the Court may make an order removing his name from the register of advocates on record either permanently or for such period as the Court may think fit and the Registrar shall thereupon report the said fact to the Bar Council of India and to State Bar Council concerned:
Provided that the Court shall, before making such order, issue to such advocate-on-record a summons returnable before the Court or before a Special Bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice, requiring the advocate-on-record to show cause against the matters alleged in the summons, and the summons shall, if practicable, be served personally upon him with copies of any affidavit or statement before the Court at the time of the issue of the summons.
Explanation.—For the purpose of these rules, misconduct or conduct unbecoming of an advocate-on-record shall include—
(a) mere name lending by an advocate-on-record without any further participation in the proceedings of the case;
(b) absence of the advocate-on-record from the Court without any justifiable cause when the case is taken up for hearing; and
(c) failure to submit appearance slip duly signed by the advocate-on-record of actual appearances in the Court.”
An occasion for an advocate-on-record to file a memorandum of appearance accompanied by a vakalatnama, arises when he files a case in The Supreme Court or when he appears for a respondent or opponent in any case. If a vakalatnama is not duly executed before the advocate-on-record but executed in the presence of a notary or another advocate, the advocate-on-record must, before filing the vakalatnama, make an endorsement thereon that he has satisfied himself about the due execution of the vakalatnama.
Therefore, if someone else hands over the vakalatnama to an advocate-on-record, the requirement of making an endorsement, as provided in clause (a)(ii) of Rule 7, is mandatory. This endorsement cannot be made blindly but must be based on due verification and confirmation. This responsibility is put on the advocates-on-record to uphold the integrity of the process.
Clauses (b) and (c) of the Explanation to Rule 10 have not been brought into force as yet, but clause (a) of the Explanation has been brought into force. It clearly prohibits advocates-on-record from merely lending their name without any further participation in the proceedings of the case. Thus, if an advocate-on-record indulges in name lending, it amounts to misconduct or conduct unbecoming of an advocate-on-record. The prohibition on name lending is not confined to the period after the filing of a case or the post-filing of an appearance for a party; it is applicable even before the case is actually filed.
Reference
Jitender @ Kalla v. State Govt (NCT Of Delhi) (2025)