- (1.) To challenge "The Bar Associations of Rajasthan Rules, 2013" (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules of 2013"), the prominent Bar Associations operating at different stations in the State of Rajasthan, are before us as petitioners in the petitions preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner Bar Associations are societies, either registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act, 1958.
(2.) The case of the petitioner associations is that the State Bar Council is having no competence to enact the Rules of 2013, prescribing complete code relating to constitution, election, management, working, funding etc. of the Bar Associations. The Rules, as per the petitioners, deserve to be declared ultra vires being enacted by the State Bar Council beyond the competence vested in it. The Rajasthan State Bar Council enacted the Rules aforesaid with preamble that reads as follows:- "The profession of advocacy is a noble one because the advocate serves the society with all decency, responsibility and with dignity. Advocates are the representative class of society. The leaders of bar project the standard and quality of their members. In recent past years the procedure to choose leaders of Bar Associations has been polluted. Also, the fact is there that the welfare schemes introduced by Rajasthan Bar Council and the Bar Council of India are not being properly implemented. It is the duty of state Bar Council to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purpose of effective implementation of the welfare schemes prepared by it. Therefore, in order to give effective implementation of the welfare schemes for the advocates of state of Rajasthan and also to provide systematic and disciplined election process for the Bar Associations of state of Rajasthan, these rules are framed under the powers conferred under section 6(dd) of the Advocates Act, 1961."
(3.) The rules aforesaid were approved by the Bar Council of India on 17.6.2014 and came into force on 31.5.2015. As per clause (a) of Rule 2 of the Rules of 2013 "Bar Association means registered under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act, 1958 (Act No.28 of 1958) and recognised/registered under Section 14 of the Rajasthan Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987".;