The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued comprehensive guidelines regulating the use of social media by advocates, law students and law interns, while making it mandatory for all future applicants seeking enrolment as advocates to submit an affidavit or compliance undertaking affirming adherence to digital ethics and professional standards.
In a circular dated July 17, the BCI directed all State Bar Councils to introduce a standalone affidavit or compliance acknowledgement as part of the enrolment and other regulatory processes. The undertaking requires aspiring advocates to affirm that they will not misuse court proceedings, client or chamber material, artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfakes or other digital platforms, and that they will comply with the standards relating to court decorum, confidentiality, professional responsibility and ethical online conduct.
The affidavit also requires applicants to undertake that they will not misuse their professional identity, publish misleading legal content, fabricate or circulate judgments, impersonate legal professionals, or create and disseminate manipulated material, including deepfakes, voice-cloned audio and other synthetic content. It further mandates an undertaking against unauthorised use of client documents, chamber records and confidential information.
The BCI clarified that advocates already enrolled are not required to submit a fresh affidavit. However, State Bar Councils have been directed to sensitise existing advocates regarding digital ethics, advertising and solicitation restrictions under the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Bar Council of India Rules, confidentiality obligations, court decorum, legal misinformation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
The circular expressly prohibits advocates from creating reels, videos, photographs or promotional content inside court premises, courtrooms, corridors, Bar rooms, chambers or judicial buildings in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and decorum of the legal profession. It also prohibits clipping, editing or circulating live-streamed court proceedings with captions, music, commentary, thumbnails or voiceovers that ridicule, mock, distort, sensationalise or scandalise judges, advocates, litigants, witnesses or the judicial process.
Reiterating the restrictions contained in the Bar Council of India Rules, the circular states that advocates must not use court robes, bands or gowns for social media posts, promotional photographs or public branding, except where permitted under the Rules or during ceremonial occasions. Recording physical, hybrid or virtual court proceedings has also been prohibited except in accordance with applicable court rules.
The BCI has barred advocates from publishing content amounting to advertisement, solicitation, client attraction or commercial self-promotion, and has directed them not to permit juniors, interns or chamber staff to publish content that they themselves are prohibited from sharing. It has also prohibited the use of court premises, cause lists, briefs, chamber files, client documents, law firm spaces, internship access or the identity of being an advocate as props for glamourised, sensational, misleading, commercial or follower-seeking social media content.
The guidelines further prohibit clickbait, fear-based marketing and outcome guarantees such as “guaranteed bail”, “divorce in a few days”, “sure acquittal”, “assured stay” or “instant relief”, observing that such claims mislead litigants, commodify legal remedies and violate the prohibition against professional solicitation. The BCI also expressed concern over the growing spread of legal misinformation by self-styled legal influencers, non-enrolled persons, law students and interns who present oversimplified or inaccurate legal advice on digital platforms.
The circular introduces safeguards relating to artificial intelligence and synthetic media. Advocates are required to disclose, wherever material, the use of AI tools to generate or substantially modify images, videos, voiceovers, posters, avatars, captions, legal summaries or other digital content concerning courts, judges, advocates, litigants, clients, proceedings or legal rights. It also prohibits the creation or circulation of AI-generated images, deepfake videos, voice-cloned recordings or other synthetic content depicting judges, advocates, litigants or court proceedings, as well as fabricated judgments and misleading AI-generated legal content without appropriate disclosure.
Explaining the rationale behind the directions, the BCI observed that selective clipping, editing and circulation of live-streamed court proceedings with sensational or disparaging commentary could undermine public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice. It clarified that the object of the circular is to prevent content that crosses the line from legal education into solicitation, misinformation, impersonation, breach of confidentiality, manufactured authority, commercial self-promotion or conduct inconsistent with the dignity of the courts and the Bar.
At the same time, the BCI emphasised that the circular is not intended to discourage responsible legal awareness, academic discussions of judgments, accurate legal reporting, public legal education, lectures, seminars, podcasts or other educational content, provided such material is accurate, contextual, non-soliciting, does not disclose confidential information and does not reduce complex legal issues to misleading assurances regarding legal outcomes. The prescribed affidavit formats for aspiring advocates and undertakings for law students have been annexed to the circular.
The BCI has directed every State Bar Council to circulate the circular individually to each enrolled advocate and every recognised Bar Association within its jurisdiction, clarifying that merely uploading it on a website would not amount to compliance. Bar Associations have also been instructed to circulate the guidelines among their members and display them prominently on notice boards, websites and official communication platforms. Law schools and Centres of Legal Education have been directed to conduct mandatory orientation programmes on digital ethics, professional responsibility and responsible online conduct.
To ensure effective implementation, State Bar Councils have been directed to constitute Digital Ethics Committees or appoint nodal groups or officers to receive complaints, preserve relevant digital material, counsel first-time violators and refer serious or repeated violations to the competent disciplinary authority. They have also been asked to establish dedicated email addresses, complaint portals or other accessible reporting mechanisms.
The BCI, however, cautioned that the guidelines must not be misused for personal vendettas, moral policing, suppression of lawful criticism or action based on unverified allegations. It stressed that enforcement should remain educative, preventive and proportionate, while strictly adhering to the Advocates Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India Rules, applicable court rules and the principles of natural justice.
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