The District Bar Association Faridabad in Haryana passed a Resolution on 5th June 2018 barring out station advocates from appearing in any court of law without any local counsel. It was reasoned that this step will help the problem of matters going uninformed and loss of work to fellow advocates.
The Resolution read:
“It has been observed by the executive members that advocates appearing from out stations without local counsels cause inconvenience to the members of Distt. Bar Association Faridabad as the matters go uninformed and the same also results in loss of work to our fellow advocates.
It has, therefore, been resolved in the Executive Meeting held today i.e. 05-06-2018 that advocates from outstations will not be allowed to appear before any court of law unless accompanied by local counsel.”
In 2016, the Supreme Court of India had upheld a similar provision of the Allahabad High Court. In the case “Jamshed Ansari vs High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and Ors.” 2016 (6) Supreme 525 it was held by the Apex Court that Rules 3 and 3A of the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 are in consonance with Article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution of India. An advocate not on the roll of State Bar Council is not allowed to appear, act or plead unless he files an appointment along with the advocate who is on the Roll of such State Bar Council and is practicing in court at that time.
Therefore, the right to practice, which is not only a statutory right under the provisions of the Advocates Act but would also be a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution is subject to reasonable restrictions.
This resolution, however legally sustainable, has faced severe criticism from some advocates of Delhi who appear in District Court Faridabad.