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Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017
Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017
Sections
1. Short title and commencement.
Section 12. Definitions.
Section 23. Categories of Law Officer.
Section 34. Search Committee.
Section 45. Selection Committee and Engagement.
Section 56. Eligibility.
Section 67. Disqualification for engagement.
Section 78. Duties of Law Officers.
Section 89. Assistance to Law Officers.
Section 910. Disengagement of Law Officer.
Section 1011. Review of performance.
Section 1112. Retainer, Fee and other Allowance.
Section 1213. Special Engagement.
Section 1314. Research Counsel.
Section 1415. Saving and overriding effect.
Section 15
bihar-law-officers-engagement-rules-2017.json
•
15 Sections
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Bihar
{
"id": 15370,
"slug": "bihar-law-officers-engagement-rules-2017",
"title": "Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017",
"short_title": "Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017",
"act_number": "Published vide Notification No. C/EH-07/17-6537, d",
"act_year": 2017,
"act_type": "STATE",
"location": "Bihar",
"law_status": "unknown",
"enactment_date": null,
"description": "Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017",
"preamble": "",
"section_label": "Section",
"sections": [
{
"number": "1",
"title": "1. Short title and commencement.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 0
},
{
"number": "2",
"title": "2. Definitions.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a) \"Advocate\" means an advocate as defined under the Advocates Act, 1961;\n(b) \"Advocate General\" means a person appointed under Article 165 of the Constitution of India as Advocate General for the state of Bihar and includes any person appointed to act temporarily as such;\n(c) \"Advocate on Record\" means an Advocate on Record as per the applicable Rules of the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court of India,\n(d) \"Assistant Counsel\" means an Advocate not being a Law Officer but engaged to provide assistance to Law Officer under Rule 9 of these Rules;\n(e) \"Category\" means the category of post of Law Officers specified in Rule 3 of these Rules and includes such other categories of Law Officers, as may be determined by the Government from time to time;\n(f) \"Engaging Authority\" means the Government;\n(g) \"Government\" means the Government of the State of Bihar;\n(h) \"Government Counsel\" means an Advocate engaged under Rule 5(4) of these Rules;\n(i) \"Law Officers\" means an Advocate engaged under these Rules as a Law officer in the Office of the Advocate General by the Government and includes a special Public Prosecutor or a Special Counsel;\n(j) \"Public Prosecutor\" means an Advocate appointed under section 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to be a Public Prosecutor for the Patna High Court or for the Sessions Division and includes Additional Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor (Senior Panel) and Special Public Prosecutor;\n(k) \"Selection Committee\" means a committee constituted under Rule 5 of these Rules;\n(l) \"Search Committee\" means a Committee constituted under Rule 4 of these Rules;\n(m) \"Special Public Prosecutor\" or \"Special Counsel\" means an Advocate or a Senior Advocate engaged under Rule 11 of these Rules.\n(n) \"Research Counsel\" means an Advocate engaged under Rule 14 of these Rules.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": true,
"sort_order": 1
},
{
"number": "3",
"title": "3. Categories of Law Officer.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a) the Additional Advocate General,\n(b) the Government Advocate,\n(c) the Government Pleader,\n(d) the Standing Counsel,\n(e) the Public Prosecutor,\n(f) the Additional Public Prosecutor\n(g) the Additional Public Prosecutor (Senior Panel)\n(a) the Standing Counsel,\n(b) the Additional Standing Counsel.\n(a) the Public Prosecutor,\n(b) the Government Pleader,\n(c) the Additional Public Prosecutor,\n(d) the Additional Government Pleader.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 2
},
{
"number": "4",
"title": "4. Search Committee.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a)\nThe Advocate General, Bihar\nChairman;\n(b)\nThe Principal Secretary, General Administration\n\t\t\t\tDepartment\nMember;\n(c)\nThe Principal Secretary, Home (Police)\n\t\t\t\tDepartment\nMember.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 3
},
{
"number": "5",
"title": "5. Selection Committee and Engagement.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a)\nThe Minister-in-Charge, Law Department\nChairman,\n(b)\nThe Advocate General\nMember,\n(c)\nThe Legal Remembrancer and Secretary, Law\n\t\t\t\tDepartment\nMember Secretary\n(a) For Public Prosecutor-The District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police of the concerned District.\n(b) For Government Pleaders-The District Magistrate and the Additional Collector of the concerned District.\n(c) For Additional Public Prosecutor-The District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police and the Public Prosecutor of the concerned District.\n(d) For Additional Government Pleader-The District Magistrate, the Additional Collector and the Government Pleader of the concerned District.\n(ii) The Search Committee constituted under Rule 5(i) in consultation with the District and Sessions Judge for the concerned district shall a prepare a list of names of Advocates on the basis of the eligibility criteria set out under these Rules and their experience, integrity, reliability, reputation, merit and suitability and submit it to the Legal Remembrancer and Secretary, Law Department.\n(iii) The list so forwarded by the District Collector shall be placed before the Selection Committee constituted under Rule 5(i) of these Rules and based on the eligibility and qualifications as provided under these Rules and also their experience, integrity, reliability, reputation, merit and suitability the Selection Committee shall prepare a panel of names of Advocates for engagement by the Government on the categories of posts mentioned in Rule 3 (3) of these Rules. On such recommendations made by the Selection Committee, the Government shall, by order, make engagement of Law Officers to the various categories of Posts in the Civil Courts of Bihar.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 4
},
{
"number": "6",
"title": "6. Eligibility.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a) a citizen of India and registered with a Bar Council constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961; and\n(b) a designated senior Advocate or an Advocate on record, who has been practicing in the Patna High Court or Supreme Court of India or an Advocate who has been practicing in the Civil Courts of Bihar;\n(c) possesses the following standing in number of years of practice against the respective categories and being an income tax assessee for at least three financial years from the financial year in which engagement is to be made:-\n(i) For an Additional Advocate General for the Patna High Court he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 20 years or a designated Senior Advocate of the Patna High Court;\n(ii) For a Standing Counsel for the Supreme Court of India Court he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 20 years in the Supreme Court of India;\n(iii) For a Government Advocate for the Patna High Court or for an Additional Standing Counsel for the Supreme Court of India he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 15 years in the Patna High Court or in the Supreme Court of India respectively for that Court for which the engagement is to be made;\n(iv) For a Standing Counsel for the Patna High Court he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 10 years in the Patna High Court;\n(v) For a Government Pleader for the Patna High Court or for the Civil Courts of Bihar he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 10 years in the Patna High Court or in the Civil Courts of Bihar respectively for that Court for which the engagement is to be made;\n(vi) For a Public Prosecutor for the Patna High Court or for the Civil Courts of Bihar he has been in practice for not less than 10 years in the Patna High Court or in the Civil Courts of Bihar respectively for that Court for which the engagement is to be made;\n(vii) For an Additional Public Prosecutor for Patna High Court or for the Civil Courts of Bihar he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 7 years in the Patna High Court or in the Civil Courts of Bihar respectively for that Court for which the engagement is to be made;\n(viii) For an Additional Government Pleader for the Civil Courts of Bihar he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than 7 years in the Civil Courts of Bihar.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 5
},
{
"number": "7",
"title": "7. Disqualification for engagement.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(1) a Law Officer who accepts brief from any private person in an criminal case in any Court;\n(2) a law Officer may accepts a brief from any private person for a civil case in any court provided that such acceptance does not interfere with the discharge of his duties as a Law Officer and relates solely to dispute involving private parties and not involving the Government or its officials,\n(3) an Officer shall not appear for or give Legal Advice to private person or matter in which the interest of the person are likely to be adverse to that of the Government or its Officials;\n(4) a Law Officers shall not accept a brief from any person, whether a petitioner or Respondent, in proceedings initiated in an Election Petition in connection with an Election to a Local Authority or the State Legislature or the Parliament;\n(5) a person, who is a member of the parliament or a Legislature of the State, a municipal Corporation, a Municipal Council, a Panchayat or any other Local Authority, shall not, as long as he hold that office, be eligible for engagement;\n(6) a Law Officer shall not give legal advice to or accept a brief from or appear in any Court of Law on behalf of any instrumentality of the State, constituted by or under any statute or otherwise, including various Universities, Boards, Corporations, Authorities etc, where such advice, acceptance or appearance is in conflict with the interest of the Government or its Officials, either directly or indirectly;\n(7) a Law Officer shall not continues to give legal advice to or to retain brief from or appear in any Court of Law on behalf of any person, body, association, company etc which effects the interest of the Government or its Officials, either directly or indirectly, after being engaged under these Rules;\n(8) If the Law Officer ceases to be an Advocate or is convicted by a Court of Law for an offence involving moral turpitude.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 6
},
{
"number": "8",
"title": "8. Duties of Law Officers.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(a) to give advice to the Government upon such matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time, be referred or assigned to him by the Government or the Advocate General;\n(b) to appear without fail on behalf of the Government and its Officials and either prosecute or defend all proceedings, as that case may be, before the Patna High Court or the Supreme Court or any other High Court or any other Courts of Law as allotted or as directed by the Advocate General, in which the Government is concerned as a party or is otherwise interested;\n(c) to discharge such other functions as are conferred on a Law Officer by or under the Constitution of India or any other Law for the time being in force.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 7
},
{
"number": "9",
"title": "9. Assistance to Law Officers.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(ii) Assisting Counsel engaged under Sub-Rule (i) above shall not appear or argue on behalf of the Government independently in any proceeding after completion of pleadings or during course of final arguments therein before any of the Courts mentioned under the said Sub-rule(i).",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 8
},
{
"number": "10",
"title": "10. Disengagement of Law Officer.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 9
},
{
"number": "11",
"title": "11. Review of performance.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(ii) The work of the Law officers engaged under Rule 5(5) of these Rules shall be assessed every year by the District and Sessions Judge and the District Magistrate of the concerned District and such assessment shall be sent to the Government for appraisal of their performance of duties and the Government may disengage such Law Officers, in consultation of the Advocate General, whose performance has not been satisfactory on account of their failure to perform the duties as under Rule 8 of these Rules.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 10
},
{
"number": "12",
"title": "12. Retainer, Fee and other Allowance.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 11
},
{
"number": "13",
"title": "13. Special Engagement.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 12
},
{
"number": "14",
"title": "14. Research Counsel.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 13
},
{
"number": "15",
"title": "15. Saving and overriding effect.",
"chapter": null,
"content": "(ii) Anything contrary to these Rules made or issued by the Government in connection with the matters provided for herein prior to coming force of these Rules or anything contained in the Legal Remembrancer Rules, 1946 shall not have any effect and shall not stand saved from the date of coming in force of these Rules.",
"footnote": "",
"is_definition": false,
"sort_order": 14
}
],
"metadata": {
"Act ID": "bh540",
"Act Number": "Published vide Notification No. C/EH-07/17-6537, dated 30.10.2017",
"Enactment Date": "",
"Act Year": "2017",
"Short Title": "Bihar Law Officers (Engagement) Rules, 2017",
"Type": "STATE",
"Location": "Bihar"
},
"updated_at": "2026-09-29 21:55:19"
}