On 1 August 2023, the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was presented in the Rajya Sabha. This bill revises the Advocates Act of 1961. Sections of the Legal Practitioners Act, of 1879 that deal with touts are repealed under the bill. The All-India Bar and Bar Councils were established by the 1961 Act, which also consolidated the laws about lawyers. The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by the Parliament on the first day of the Winter Session after receiving consent from the Lok Sabha. In August of this year, during Parliament's Monsoon Session, the Rajya Sabha approved the bill. Important aspects of the bill comprise:
- Touts: The bill grants the authority to create and distribute tout lists to any individual holding the post of high court, district judge, sessions judge, district magistrate, or revenue officer (not lower than district collector). A tout is someone who: (i)enters into a legal company to hire a lawyer for a fee, or (ii)visits public areas like courthouses, revenue offices, or train stations to do just that. If someone's name is on the list of touts, the judge or court may ban them from entering the courthouse.
- List preparation: Those in charge of compiling and disseminating the touts' names have the power to direct lower courts to investigate the actions of anyone who is believed to be a tout. The authority may add a person's name to the list of touts once they have proven to be one. Every individual will be given a chance to contest their inclusion on such lists.
- Penalty: A person may face up to three months in jail, a fine of up to Rs 500, or both if they are found to be acting as a tout while their name is on the tout list.
The Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, responded to the Bill's debate by saying that the colonial Act had no use and was thus repealed. According to the minister, 1,486 similar legislation have been repealed.
Karti Chidambaram, a member of Congress, welcomed the bill to start the discussion. Kalyan Banerjee of TMC brought up the enormous backlog of cases when he participated in the conversation.
Among those who took part in the discussion were NCP's Supriya Sule, BSP's Malook Nagar, and BJP's Jagdambika Pal. In his introduction of the bill, Mr. Meghwal stated that the purpose of the law is to rid courthouses of touts.
A. Raja of the DMK accused the administration of manipulating Parliament by interfering with state authorities through the introduction of amendments about state matters. "The government needs to revisit the Bill and come up with something workable," he added, adding that the current version makes no sense.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury emphasized the importance of bolstering the provision of legal help to vulnerable and impoverished groups, pointing out that the judiciary is still seen as a last choice for those impacted.
A member of the Biju Janata Dal, Bhartruhari Mahtab, has called for the elimination of touts and has advocated for the promotion of digital interface between attorneys and their clients.
N.K. Premachandran of the RSP praised the bill, calling it "small but important" for the advocacy community.
