The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a circular dated July 17 against the “growing and disturbing tendency among some Advocates, law students, interns and social media users” to create reels, videos etc. with dramatic presentations, promotional posts and other social media content depicting Court premises, judicial hearings and, in some cases, selected portions of live-streamed Court proceedings.
The Bar Council has noted that this growing concern is not limited to recording or filming in Court premises. The circular states-
“A larger and equally serious issue has emerged in respect of selective clipping, editing, captioning and circulation of portions of live-streamed proceedings, often with sensational, mocking, disparaging or scandalising comments directed at Judges, arguing counsel, litigants or the judicial process itself. Such acts, if unchecked, can undermine public confidence in Courts and the administration of justice.”
Moreover, the increased misuse of digital space for legal misinformation by people who are either not enrolled Advocates and, in some instances, by law students, interns or self-styled legal influencers who present oversimplified, sensational or inaccurate content as legal advice.
The circular states-
“The circulation of fake judgments, fabricated extracts of orders, misleading summaries, anonymous legal opinions, artificial court experience narratives and posts suggesting guaranteed outcomes has the tendency to misguide litigants, exploit vulnerable persons and erode public confidence in the administration of justice.”
The 37 page circular includes the following –
1. Final standalone sworn affidavit at the stage of enrolment.
2. Final undertaking for students at admission and before internship.
3. Final stakeholder declaration for State Bar Councils, Bar Associations, law firms, chambers and Centres of Legal Education.
4. Final circular and request format for social media intermediaries and platforms.
5. Final format for approved public legal awareness content.
6. Final disclosure and disclaimer format for legal awareness content creators.
Positive Use Of Social Media Not Prohibited
BCI clarified that this circular is not intended to discourage:
i. responsible legal awareness;
ii. academic discussion of judgments;
iii. accurate legal reporting;
iv. public legal education;
v. constitutional literacy;
vi. neutral case-law updates;
vii. academic lectures, articles or seminars;
viii. responsible use of official Court information;
ix. respectful discussion of legal principles arising from judgments and orders.
x. short-form legal education, including reels, shorts, brief videos, carousels, posts, threads, podcast clips or similar condensed digital formats, provided such content is accurate, contextual, non-soliciting, non-confidential, non-sensational, and does not convert complex legal questions into misleading outcome assurances
However, the line is crossed when content becomes-
i. promotional;
ii. sensational;
iii. misleading;
iv. mocking;
v. defamatory;
vi. scandalising;
vii. contemptuous;
viii. commercially exploitative;
ix. violative of confidentiality;
x. violative of Court rules, live-streaming rules or video-conferencing rules;
xi. inconsistent with the dignity of the profession;
xii. unsupported by statutory provisions, rules, notifications, circulars or judicial precedents where the content purports to explain a specific legal right, remedy, procedure, offence, limitation period, bail standard, matrimonial remedy, consumer remedy, property remedy or other legal consequence;
xiii. based upon fabricated judgments, fake citations, unverified screenshots, misleading excerpts, Al generated or otherwise non-existent case law, anonymous rumours or distorted summaries of Court proceedings.
Finally, the circular states-
“The Bar Council of India appeals to every member of the Bar to remember that the profession has survived not because of publicity, but because of trust; not because of spectacle, but because of learning; not because of self-promotion, but because of restraint, service, courage and ethical discipline.
The Bar Council of India calls upon all Advocates, law students, interns, chambers, law offices, law firms, Bar Associations and Centres of Legal Education to collectively protect the dignity of the Court, the independence of the Bar and the faith of the common citizen in the justice delivery system.
This circular is not merely a warning. It is also a request, a request to preserve what generations of great lawyers built with learning, sacrifice, discipline, courage, humility and restraint.
The Bar Council of India expects full cooperation from all concerned.”
