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THE ADVOCATES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2023

NO. 33 OF 2023

[8th December, 2023.]

An Act further to amend the Advocates Act, 1961.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fourth Year of the Republic of India as

follows:—

1. (1) This Act may be called the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 2023.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification

in the Official Gazette, appoint.

Short title and

commencement.

MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

(Legislative Department)

New Delhi, the 8th December, 2023/Agrahayana 17, 1945 (Saka)

The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the

8th December, 2023 and is hereby published for general information:—

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EXTRAORDINARY

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PART II — Section 1

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2. After section 45 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the principal

Act), the following section shall be inserted, namely:—

‘45A. (1) Every High Court, District Judge, Sessions Judge, District Magistrate,

and every Revenue-officer, not being below the rank of a Collector of a district (each as

regards their or his own Court and the Courts, if any, subordinate thereto) may frame

and publish lists of persons proved to their or his satisfaction, or to the satisfaction of

any subordinate Court as provided in sub-section (3) by evidence of general repute or

otherwise, habitually to act as touts, and may, from time to time, alter and amend such

lists.

Explanation.—The passing of a resolution, declaring any person to be or not to

be a tout, by a majority of the members present at a meeting, specially convened for the

purpose, of an association of persons entitled to practice as legal practitioners in any

Court or revenue-office, shall be evidence of the general repute of such person for the

purposes of this sub-section.

(2) No person's name shall be included in any such list until he shall have had an

opportunity of showing cause against such inclusion.

(3) Any authority empowered under sub-section (1) to frame and publish a list

of touts may send to any Court subordinate to such authority the names of any

persons alleged or suspected to be touts, and order that Court to hold an inquiry in

regard to such persons; and the subordinate Court shall thereupon hold an inquiry

into the conduct of such persons and, after giving each such person an opportunity of

showing cause as provided in sub-section (2), shall report to the authority which has

ordered the inquiry the name of each such person who has been proved to the

satisfaction of the subordinate Court to be a tout; and that authority may include the

name of any such person in the list of touts framed and published by that authority:

Provided that such authority shall hear any such person who, before his name

has been so included, appears before it and desires to be heard.

(4) A copy of every such list shall be kept hung up in every Court to which the

same relates.

(5) The Court or Judge may, by general or special order, exclude from the precincts

of the Court any person whose name is included in any such list.

(6) Any person who acts as a tout whilst his name is included in any such list

shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with fine

which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

(7) For the purposes of this section,—

(a) "Judge" means the presiding judicial officer in every Civil and Criminal

Court, by whatever title he is designated;

(b) "subordinate Court" means all Courts subordinate to the High Court,

including Courts of Small Causes established under any law for the time being in

force;

(c) "revenue-office" includes all Courts (other than Civil Courts) trying

suits under any law for the time being in force relating to landholders and their

tenants or agents;

(d) "tout" means a person—

(i) who procures, in consideration of any remuneration moving from

any legal practitioner, the employment of the legal practitioner in any legal

business; or who proposes to any legal practitioner or to any person

interested in any legal business to procure, in consideration of any

remuneration moving from either of them, the employment of the legal

practitioner in such business; or

Insertion of new

section 45A.

Power to

frame and

publish lists of

touts.

25 of 1961.

2

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY

[PART II—

(ii) who for the purposes of such procurement frequents the

precincts of Civil or Criminal Courts or of revenue-offices, or railway

stations, landing stages, lodging places or other places of public resort.’.

3. In section 50 of the principal Act, after sub-section (5), the following sub-section

shall be inserted, namely:—

“(6) On the date on which section 45A of the Advocates Act, 1961 comes into

force, sections 1, 3 and 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 shall stand repealed.”.

S.K.G. RAHATE,

Secretary to the Govt. of India.

25 of 1961.

18 of 1879.

Amendment

of section 50.

SEC. 1]

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY

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UPLOADED BY THE MANAGER, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRESS, MINTO ROAD, NEW DELHI–110002

AND PUBLISHED BY THE CONTROLLER OF PUBLICATIONS, DELHI–110054.

MGIPMRND—454GI—08-12-2023.

Kshitiz

Mohan

Digitally signed by Kshitiz Mohan

DN: c=IN, st=Delhi,

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Delhi,

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247, ou=Deputy Manager, o=Government of

India Press, cn=Kshitiz Mohan

Date: 2023.12.08 23:16:49 +05'30'