SC issues notices to Centre, BCI on PIL seeking Aadhaar-like verification mechanism for lawyers

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Centre, the Bar Council of India, state bar councils and the UGC on a PIL seeking a national advocate verification mechanism to weed out fake lawyers and to put in place a social media code of conduct for them.

Petitioner Bar Association of India sought establishment of a National Digital Registry for the Legal Profession of India (NDRLP), a centralised, technology-driven Aadhaar-like database assigning each advocate a unique identifier linked to verified qualifications, enrolment status and disciplinary records.