Govt notifies Advocates Amendment Act, to come into force on Sep 30

The Law Ministry on Friday notified a law which seeks to punish touts functioning in courts.

The notification said the central government appoints September 30 as the date on which the provisions of the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 2023 will come into force.

Passed by Parliament in the fag end of 2023, the law provides for preparation and publication of lists of touts.

Tout means a person who procures, in consideration of any remuneration from any legal practitioner, business from him or her.

But at the same time, no one's name will be included in any such list until he has been given an opportunity to prove innocence.

All the aspects which are dealt with in the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 are already covered under the Advocates Act, 1961 except the matter relating to 'touts'. All sections of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879, except three sections have been repealed through the Advocates Act, 1961.

The Law Commission in its report 'Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal' had