
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has proposed a revised Draft Advocates Act Amendment Bill, 2026, which introduces changes to Section 47 to ensure that Indian courts remain the exclusive domain of Indian advocates and that foreign lawyers and law firms are not permitted to appear before any Indian court.
The proposals also state that draft rules governing foreign law firms and lawyers must be framed with prior approval from the central government, as the Centre is best placed to take into account the country's diplomatic and bilateral relations with foreign countries.
They also propose increasing women's representation in the apex statutory body from 25 to 33, including four elected and three co-opted members.
The draft seeks to empower the BCI and state bar councils to administer welfare funds for insurance, pensions, medical relief and support for advocates' disabled and dependent family members, to be funded through subscriptions that the councils may now legally collect.
It also proposed increasing the Legal Education Committee to 25 members, up from 10. They can bring in former judges, the attorney general, solicitor general, vice-chancellors and law deans.
The BCI has proposed to raise the enrolment fee for new advocates to ₹18,000 for the State Bar Council and an additional ₹4,500 for the BCI, citing the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India, which flagged the old fee as badly out of step with inflation.
The BCI circulated the draft on 18 July and invited recommendations until 31 July.
This is the second attempt to amend the six-decade-old law governing India’s legal profession. The draft of 2025, brought in by the law ministry, sought government nominees on the BCI and threatened advocates with heavy fines and disciplinary action for participating in strikes.
The revised draft drops proposals for government nominees and a ₹5 lakh fine for disciplinary lapses, as these were strongly opposed by the BCI, which said the legal profession should continue to be regulated by the statutory body rather than the government.
“The BCI should regulate and not prohibit foreign lawyers in arbitration. The competition will improve the quality of advocacy," said retired Justice Hemant Gupta.
The government said in a statement that the amendments are aimed at modernizing the Act, strengthening legal education and improving professional standards while preserving the independence of the legal profession.
Yash Tiwari is a Mumbai-based journalist who reports on corporate and regulatory developments, with a focus on court-driven policy shifts and the intersection of law and public policy. He has been in the profession for two years. Before joining Mint, he worked at NDTV Profit as an assistant producer on the TV desk while also reporting, gaining experience across television and print journalism and combining reporting with production expertise.<br><br> Born in Kolkata, a city he remains deeply connected to, Yash has a keen interest in the technicalities of Indian law and aims to decode complex legal developments in a clear and accessible manner for readers. He is a graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, where he completed his postgraduate diploma in journalism.<br><br> He closely follows politics and government policies, and has covered several state elections as a freelance journalist. His work is driven by the idea of making law less intimidating and more understandable for the general public.<br><br> When not at work, Yash can be found playing cricket, revisiting classic matches, or engaging in conversations about the evolving landscape of law and policy in India.
Manas is a New Delhi-based journalist with Mint, where he covers the intersection of economic policy, industry, and emerging sectors shaping India’s growth. He writes on government regulation, manufacturing, and the clean energy transition, with particular depth in areas such as electric mobility, battery ecosystems, and rare-earth supply chains. He has written on India’s efforts to build domestic capacity in electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as the broader push to reduce import dependence and strengthen supply chain resilience. His reports are not limited to capturing the headline; they also aim to explain complex policy simply.<br><br>Manas has studied law in Pune, the city where he grew up, followed by a business journalism diploma from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. In his almost two years of being a correspondent for Mint, Manas has reported as major wars unfolded, a general election brought surprises for both the ruling party and the Opposition, and three Union Budget announcements where India has charted its economic course for the days to come.<br><br>On vacation, Manas plays bass guitar with his friends in Space & Co, their jam-rock band. He also likes cats, and occasions of late-night snacking.
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