New Delhi: Nearly 35-40% advocates practicing in Indian courts hold fake degrees, Bar Council of India (BCI) chairperson senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra has claimed.
The BCI is aware of this and is in the process of taking steps, he said, as reported by Live Law.
“The Bar Council of India is aware that around 35 to 40 percent of those seen in court complexes wearing black coats and bands are fake. Their degrees are absolutely fake; they manufactured them somewhere or bought them from somewhere, and on that basis, they are practicing in courts,” Mishra told IANS.
After BCI initiated the process to verify degrees, about 40% of the advocates did not fill up the verification forms, he claimed. These 40% advocates are suspected to be fake, he said. He added that he has brought this fact t
o the attention of the Chief Justice of India.
Mishra made this statement while giving his views about the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ social media movement, which emerged following an oral comment made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The BCI chairperson explained the CJI’s comments, saying that he was referring to youngsters who join professions with fake degrees.
“The Chief Justice was referring to those who obtain fake degrees, wear black coats, bands, and robes, and appear in court. That statement was about them. The background of that situation was different,” Mishra said.
During that hearing, CJI Kant has said that he is awaiting an opportunity to call for a CBI inquiry into fake advocates practicing in the country.
He had expressed doubts about the genuineness of the law degrees of several advocates while pulling up a lawyer who filed a petition pertaining to senior advocate designations.
He does not expect the BCI to act, CJI Kant had observed while saying that there were some unemployed youngsters like “cockroaches” who attack every system under the garb of activism. The Chief Justice of India has later clarified he was referring to those with fake degrees.