By the Court. - This writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 8 to take appropriate action against respondents 9 to 40 or any other Foreign Law Firm or Foreign Lawyers, who are illegally practising the Profession of Law in India, and for a further direction to forbear them from having any legal practice either on the litigation side or in the field of non-litigation and commercial transactions, in any manner whatsoever within the territory of India.

2. The grounds on which the writ petitioner places his reliance are summarized in a nutshell herein below :-

Enrolment :

(a) It is stated that the writ petitioner is an active practitioner of law having enrolled himself in the State Roll maintained by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu as per Section 17 of the Advocates Act, 1961. It is stated that to practice the profession of law in India, a person should be a citizen of India and should possess a Degree in Law obtained from a Recognised University within the Territory of India. It is further stated that Nationals of any other country may also be admitted as an Advocate on the State Roll, if citizens of India duly qualified are permitted to practice law in such other country as per the rule of reciprocity contained under Section 47 of the Advocates Act, 1961. It is also stated that those persons who have obtained degree of law from any University outside the Territory of India may also be permitted to practice the profession of law in India provided that the said degree is recognised by the Bar Council of India and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Bar Council of India from time to time. The writ petitioner, prima facie, states that the Law Graduates from India are not allowed to practice the profession of law in United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and various other foreign nations. That apart, the procedure for Indian Lawyers to practice in foreign countries is far more cumbersome and very costly, and there are also very many restrictions like qualifying tests, prior experience, work permits, etc., but no such procedures are contemplated in the Advocates Act, 1961 in respect of foreign lawyers who intend to practice law in India. The Act simply provides that a foreigner may be admitted as an Advocate, if Indian nationals are permitted to practice law in his/her country. It is stated that allowing entry of foreign law firms without any reciprocal arrangement similar to that of the arrangements prevailing in those foreign countries should not be entertained, and foreign law firms should not be allowed to exploit the Indian legal market without actually opening up their domestic markets to the Indian lawyers.

Legal Bar :

(b) It is stated that in the absence of enrolment in any of the State Bar Councils in accordance with the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, the foreigners are not entitled to practice the profession of law in India on account of the bar contained under Section 29 of the Advocates Act. While the legal position is such, under the guise of LPO and conducting seminars and arbitrations, the foreign lawyers are visiting India under Visitor s Visa and are earning money from their clients in India. By doing so, they also violate the provisions of Income Tax Laws and Immigration Laws, and also cause loss of revenue to our country s Exchequer. They have also opened up their offices in India and are actively doing legal practice in the fields of Mergers, Take-overs, Acquisitions, Amalgamations, etc.

Disciplinary Authority :

(c) It is further stated that the legal profession in India is governed by the various provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961 and, the disciplinary rules and regulations, code of conduct and professional ethics framed and practised from time to time. There is also a hierarchy of disciplinary authorities such as the State Bar Council, Bar Council of India, Supreme Court,