Section 2 of the Advocates Act, 1961 - Definitions Explained

Section 2 of the Advocates Act, 1961 defines key expressions used throughout the Act. These statutory definitions determine how terms such as "advocate", "Bar Council", "Bar Council of India", "High Court", "law graduate", "legal practitioner", "roll", "State Bar Council" and "State roll" are to be understood unless the context otherwise requires.

Why Section 2 matters: Definitions in Section 2 apply across the Advocates Act and help determine who is an advocate, which Bar Council is relevant, what constitutes a State roll, and how certain institutional and territorial expressions are interpreted.

Section 2(1) - Statutory Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "advocate" means an advocate entered in any roll under the provisions of this Act.
(b) "appointed day", in relation to any provision of this Act, means the day on which that provision comes into force.
(c) Omitted by Act 107 of 1976, section 2, with effect from 15-10-1976.
(d) "Bar Council" means a Bar Council constituted under this Act.
(e) "Bar Council of India" means the Bar Council constituted under section 4 for the territories to which this Act extends.
(f) Omitted by Act 60 of 1973, section 3, with effect from 31-1-1974.
(g) "High Court", except in sub-section (1) and sub-section (1A) of section 34 and in sections 42 and 43, does not include a court of the Judicial Commissioner and, in relation to a State Bar Council, means:
1. in the case of a Bar Council constituted for a State or for a State and one or more Union territories, the High Court for the State; and
2. in the case of the Bar Council constituted for Delhi, the High Court of Delhi.
(h) "law graduate" means a person who has obtained a bachelor's degree in law from any University established by law in India.
(i) "legal practitioner" means an advocate or vakil of any High Court, a pleader, mukhtar or revenue agent.
(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
(k) "roll" means a roll of advocates prepared and maintained under this Act.
(l) "State" does not include a Union territory.
(m) "State Bar Council" means a Bar Council constituted under section 3.
(n) "State roll" means a roll of advocates prepared and maintained by a State Bar Council under section 17.

Plain-Language Explanation of Each Definition

Advocate - Section 2(1)(a)

An "advocate" for the purposes of the Act is a person whose name has been entered on a roll prepared under the Advocates Act. The definition links the status of advocate to statutory enrolment.

Appointed day - Section 2(1)(b)

"Appointed day" is provision-specific. It means the date on which the particular provision of the Act came into force, rather than necessarily the date on which the Act was enacted.

Bar Council - Section 2(1)(d)

A "Bar Council" is a statutory Bar Council constituted under the Advocates Act. The expression therefore covers bodies created by the Act rather than private or voluntary associations of lawyers.

Bar Council of India - Section 2(1)(e)

The "Bar Council of India" is the Bar Council constituted under Section 4 for the territories to which the Act extends.

High Court - Section 2(1)(g)

Section 2 gives "High Court" a special meaning for the Advocates Act. Subject to the exceptions stated in the clause, it excludes a court of the Judicial Commissioner and identifies the relevant High Court by reference to the State Bar Council concerned.

Law graduate - Section 2(1)(h)

A "law graduate" is a person who has obtained a bachelor's degree in law from a University established by law in India. The definition should be read with the separate provisions governing eligibility and enrolment as an advocate.

Legal practitioner - Section 2(1)(i)

The expression is broader than the word "advocate" and includes the historically recognised categories listed in the Act: advocate or vakil of a High Court, pleader, mukhtar and revenue agent.

Prescribed - Section 2(1)(j)

Where the Advocates Act says something is to be done in the "prescribed" manner, the applicable detail is to be found in rules made under the Act.

Roll - Section 2(1)(k)

A "roll" is the statutory roll of advocates prepared and maintained under the Advocates Act. It is the formal record on which enrolment under the Act is based.

State - Section 2(1)(l)

For this Act, the word "State" does not include a Union territory. This statutory definition matters where the Act separately deals with States and Union territories.

State Bar Council - Section 2(1)(m)

A "State Bar Council" is a Bar Council constituted under Section 3.

State roll - Section 2(1)(n)

A "State roll" is the roll of advocates prepared and maintained by a State Bar Council under Section 17 of the Advocates Act.

Why Clauses (c) and (f) Are Shown as Omitted

Clauses (c) and (f) are retained in the lettering sequence but their earlier text has been omitted by later amendment legislation. This is why the current statutory text moves from clause (b) to clause (d), and from clause (e) to clause (g), while preserving the original clause lettering.

Section 2(2) - Corresponding Law in Goa, Daman and Diu

(2) Any reference in this Act to a law which is not in force in the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu shall, in relation to that territory, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that territory, as the case may be.

Section 2(2) is an interpretative provision. Its purpose is to ensure that where the Advocates Act refers to a law not operating in the specified territory, the reference is read, where possible, as a reference to the corresponding law in force there.

Current-law note: The earlier reference in Section 2(2) to the State of Jammu and Kashmir was omitted through the 2020 adaptation of central laws following reorganisation. The present central text therefore retains the corresponding-law provision for Goa, Daman and Diu without that former Jammu and Kashmir reference.

How Section 2 Connects with Other Provisions

Section 2 supplies definitions used throughout the Advocates Act. For example, the definition of "State Bar Council" points directly to Section 3, the definition of "Bar Council of India" points to Section 4, and the definition of "State roll" points to Section 17.

The opening words "unless the context otherwise requires" are also important. They mean that the statutory definitions normally govern the Act, but the context of a particular provision may require a different reading.

Official Legal Reference

The latest central text and related subordinate legislation can be checked on India Code, the official legislative database of the Government of India.

India Code - The Advocates Act, 1961

Note: This article explains the statutory definitions in Section 2 for general legal information. The meaning of a defined expression in a specific dispute should be considered in the context of the relevant provision, applicable rules, amendments and judicial interpretation.