INTRODUCTION

The Legal Profession has always been an important limb for administration of justice.
Without, profession of law, the courts would not be in a position to administer justice
efficiently as the evidence in support or against the parties to a suit cannot be legimately
marshaled, facts cannot be properly articulated and the best legal arguments in support or
against the case of the parties cannot be put forth before the court. A well-organized system
of judicial administration postulates a properly equipped and efficient Bar.1

The modern legal profession in India has colonial roots, emerging with the advent of Mayor's
Courts in Madras and Calcutta in 1726. However, it was not until 1846, through the Legal
Practitioner's Act, that the doors of profession were thrown open to all those duly qualified,
certified and of good character, irrespective of nationality or religion. Women were still
excluded from the profession at this stage, to be thereafter admitted through the Legal
Practitioner's (Women) Act, III of 1923. The legal profession in India, which includes both
the practice of law as well as professional legal education, is regulated by the Advocates Act,
1961.The Bar Council of India (BCI) is envisaged under the Advocates Act as a body for
regulating the minimum standards to be maintained by institutions imparting legal education
in India. The reformation of legal education in India undertaken since the late 1980s at the
initiative of the BCI, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Law Commission of
India and various state governments has led to the establishment of various national law
schools in India in the last two decades. India has the second largest population of lawyers in
the world, second only to the United States. The number of persons admitted to practice law
in India has increased from about 70,000 at time of Independence in 1947 to some 1.25
million in 2014.2

India has a recorded legal history starting from the Vedic ages and some sort of civil law
system may have been in place during the Bronze Age and the Indus Valley civilization.[ii]
Notwithstanding this, the development of law as a profession is only a recent phenomenon.
The Indian legal profession is one of the largest in the world and plays a vital role in the
worlds largest democracy. While the roots of this profession lie before Independence, since
then the profession has evolved immensely and currently faces various challenges; the most

1
LAW OCTOPUS http://www.lawctopus.com/academike/history-legal-profession-india/.
2
Legal Studies book.
important being to provide access across the profession, ensure ethical foundations and
modernise the practice across the board.

HISTORY OF LEGAL PROFESSION OF INDIA