"MP appearing in court as 'senior advocate' not an office of

A parliamentary panel has held that the appearance in a court of law by an MP in the role of a 'senior advocate' representing the Centre or state governments cannot be deemed to be an 'office of profit'.
In its first report, presented in the Parliament today, the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit for the 16th Lok Sabha also held that MPs nominated to the National Council for Senior Citizens would not attract disqualification on the grounds of 'office of profit'.
The panel, headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, said it had noted that 'Advocate' and 'Senior Advocate' are different entities or classes of advocates while examining the issue as to whether the appearance by an MP as a 'Senior Advocate' amounted to the holding of an 'Office of Profit'.

The panel was looking into the issue following a query by Rajya Sabha MP, A Navaneethakrishnan.
The committee said that as per the Advocates Act, 1961, advocates are divided into two categories -- other advocates and senior advocates.
The panel said that after deliberating on the issue, it observed that in the light of provisions contained in the Advocates Act and Bar Council of India rules, a 'Senior Advocate' cannot be engaged directly by a litigant, neither by a state government or the Centre nor by any undertaking or institution.

Accordingly, the principle of Privity of Contract, or that which prescribes that a contract cannot be enforced by a person or institution who is not party to it, is lacking between 'Senior Advocate' and Litigant, it said.

The panel said the relationship of master and servant does not exist between a Senior Advocate and the government or any local authority where a 'Senior Advocate' is merely appearing in court at the instruction of an advocate-on-record or advocate.
"The appearance by Senior Advocate at the instruction of the advocate or advocate-on-record does not constitute an office of a permanent nature under the government, which has an existence independent of the person who filled it," the committee said.