2 min readNew DelhiJul 8, 2026 04:45 AM IST

While self-regulation lies at the heart of the independence of the legal profession, it is also important to maintain public confidence in the institution of lawyers, the Supreme Court said Tuesday. The top court also asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to undertake a “comprehensive performance audit of the disciplinary mechanisms administered by it and the State Bar Councils under the Advocates Act, 1961”.

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe also called for setting up a National Legal Academy (NLA) that will provide continued legal education to lawyers so as to enable post-enrolment structural learning, enhance professional competence and other skills.

The bench set aside an Allahabad HC order which refused to give a lawyer any relief in a matter in which his name was removed from a panel of advocates by the Canara Bank and included in a “Caution List” titled “Third Party Entities Involved in Fraud”, maintained by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). This happened after a legal opinion given by the advocate turned out to be wrong and exposed the bank to loss. The SC held that the IBA’s Caution List is intended to operate only in cases involving serious misconduct  and not to address cases resting merely on alleged negligence or errors of professional judgement as in the present case.