The Bill has now been passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2023.
It amends the Advocates Act, 1961.
The Bill repeals certain sections related to touts under the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879.
The 1961 Act consolidates the law related to legal practitioners and constitutes Bar Councils and the All-India Bar.
The new bill aims at regulating the legal profession by a single act and seeks to target touts.
The Bill provides that every High Court, district judge, sessions judge, district magistrate, and revenue officer (not below the rank of a district collector) may frame and publish lists of touts.
Tout refers to a person who
either proposes to procure or procures the employment of a legal practitioner in a legal business in return of any payment,
or frequents places such as the precincts of civil or criminal courts, revenue-offices, or railway stations to procure such employment.