I.  INTRODUCTION
The Bar Council of India constituted under the Advocates Act 1961 has several solemn duties to perform. Among others it has to lay down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette and also standards of legal education. The State Bar Councils does enrolment of advocates and enforcement of discipline is part of the obligations of the State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India exercises appellate jurisdiction. The Bar Council of India is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and may by the name by which it is known sue and be sued. Under Section 7(1) of the Advocates Act 1961 lays down the functions of the Bar Council of India, which are as follows:-

7 (1)
(a) omitted;
(b) to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates;
(c) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council; (d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interest of advocates;
(e) to promote and support law reform;
(f) to deal with and dispose of any matter arising under this Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council;
(g) to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils;
(h) to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils;
(i) to recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect Universities or cause the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with such directions as it may given be in this behalf;

(ia) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;
(ib) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;
(ic) to recognise on a reciprocal basis foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the purpose of admission as an advocate under this Act;

(j) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;
(k) to provide for the election of its members;
(l) to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act;
(m) to do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions;

(2) The Bar Council of India may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of :-
(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for indigent, disabled or other advocates;
(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;
(c) establishing law libraries.

(3) The Bar Council of India may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate funds constituted under that sub-section 6, 7, 8,

II. COMPOSITION OF THE BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
The Bar Council of India consists of 18 Members. Out of the 18 Members, the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India are Ex-officio Members. The other 16 Members represent the 16 State Bar Councils in the country. The Members are elected for a period of five years and the Bar Council of India elects its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman for a period of two years from among the Members of the Bar Council of India.

BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA MEETINGS
The Bar Council of India during the year met 6 times and transacted business which included hearing of Revision Petitions filed u/s 48A of the Advocates Act by those persons against summary dismissal of their complaints against advocates for professional misconduct by the State Bar Councils during the year the Council heard 92 such petitions and disposed of 49 petitions.

III. STATUTORY COMMITTEES OF THE BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
The Bar Council of India has several committees out of which the Legal Education Committee and the Disciplinary Committees are Statutory Committees.

(a) Legal Education Committee
The Legal Education Committee consists of five Members of the Bar Council of India and five Members co-opted from outside and they represent Judiciary, Law Ministry, University Grants Commission and Academicians. This is a high powered committee which makes recommendations to the Bar Council of India on all matters pertaining to Legal Education in the country. The Legal Education Committee elects its own Chairman.

(b) Disciplinary Committees
One of the important functions of the Bar Council of India is to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for Advocates under section 7(1)(b)© and (d) read with Section 49 (1)© of the Advocates Act,1961. For this purpose u/s 35 of the Act complaints against Advocates for professional and other misconduct are received by the State Bar Councils.

The Bar Council of India constitutes the Diciplinary Committees. Every Committee consists of three Members out of which two Members are from the Bar Council of India and the third Members is co-opted from outside to enquire into the professional and other misconduct of advocates on the rolls of various State Bar Councils in the country?

Under section 35(3) of the Act the Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Councils can reprimand the Advocate, suspend or remove the name from the roll of Advocates.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Councils have same powers as are vested in the Civil Court under Code of Civil Procedure,1908 in respect of summoning the witnesses and recording the evidence and appointment of Commissions.

Under section 37 of the Act the appeal lies before the Bar Council of India against the order of the Disciplinary Committee of the State Bar Councils.

If the case is not disposed of within the statutory period of one year from the date of the receipt of the complaint or the date of initiation of the proceedings at the instance of State Bar Council, the same is transferred to the Bar Council of India under section 36B(1) of the Act. The Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Council of India continue the original case from the stage at which it was so left by the State Bar Council.

The Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Council of India discharge the work of an appellate authority as well as exercise original jurisdiction.