The High Court of Madhya Pradesh has issued an interim direction to the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh to register an advocate on its roll without the payment of any fee, following his transfer from the Bar Council of Delhi. The Court, citing Section 18 of the Advocates Act, 1961, observed that such transfers must be effected “without the payment of any fee.”
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf was hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Rohit Pathak, who challenged the State Bar Council’s demand for Rs. 15,000/- to register his name after the Bar Council of India had already approved his transfer.
Background of the Case
The petitioner, Rohit Pathak, was originally enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. Due to personal reasons, he shifted his legal practice to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and subsequently filed an application to transfer his enrollment from the Delhi Bar Council to the Madhya Pradesh State Bar Council.
According to the petitioner, fees were demanded by both the Bar Council of Delhi and the Bar Council of India, which he duly paid. Following this, the Bar Council of India, by its order dated July 5, 2025, allowed his transfer application (No. 154/2025). The approval was conditional upon the petitioner surrendering his original certificate of enrollment to the Bar Council of Delhi for an endorsement confirming the transfer.
The petitioner submitted his certificate to the Bar Council of Delhi on July 18, 2025. The Delhi Council made the required endorsement and forwarded the document to the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh.
Arguments Presented
Appearing in person, Mr. Pathak submitted that instead of registering his name on the state roll, the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh made an “exorbitant demand of Rs. 15,000/-” as a condition for accepting the transfer.
He based his primary argument on Section 18 of the Advocates Act, 1961. The relevant part of the section states:
“18. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 17, any person whose name is entered as an advocate on the roll of any State Bar Council may make an application in the prescribed form to the Bar Council of India for the transfer of his name… and, on receipt of any such application the Bar Council of India shall direct that the name of such person shall, without the payment of any fee, be removed from the roll of the first mentioned State Bar Council and entered in the roll of the other State Bar Council and the State Bar Councils concerned shall comply with such direction:”
Mr. Pathak contended that the demand by the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council was contrary to this clear statutory mandate.
Court’s Analysis and Order
The High Court reviewed the provisions of Section 18 of the Advocates Act. The bench made a direct observation on the matter, stating, “Perusal of Section 18 shows that for transfer of name from one State roll to another, the transfer has to be effected without payment of any fee.”
The Court noted that the Bar Council of India had already issued the transfer order and that the petitioner had completed the necessary procedural step of getting his certificate endorsed by the Bar Council of Delhi. Despite these facts, the Court observed, “the name of petitioner has yet not been registered.”
Finding a prima facie case, the Court issued notice to the Bar Council of India (Respondent No. 1) and the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh (Respondent No. 2), which were accepted by their respective counsels. The Court dispensed with issuing a notice to the Bar Council of Delhi (Respondent No. 3) at the current stage, noting it had “no role” left to play.
While counsel for the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh sought time to take instructions, the Court passed an interim order to protect the petitioner’s interests. The bench directed, “In the meantime, the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh is directed to register the name of petitioner in its roll subject to further orders, without charging any fee at this stage.”
The case is scheduled to be heard next on October 7, 2025.
