Cuttack: Discounting the reported claim of Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman that nearly 45 per cent of lawyers in the country are "fake", the Bar Council of Odisha today asserted there are no fake lawyers in the state.
Talking to reporters, Bar Council of Odisha Chairman Manas Ranjan Mohapatra discounted the statement of Manan Kumar Mishra, as reported in some section of the media, and said that State Bar Council "disputes" and "opposes" such statement.
He said he would raise the issue of fake lawyers with the chairman, in the next Council meeting.
Ever since the work on Place of Practice Verification Rules was introduced in 2015, at least 25000 lawyers from a total of 45,000 enrolled across the state have already submitted their applications for verification with the Council.
The remaining 20000 have been asked to submit their applications by November 30 this year.
"If any defaulting lawyer does not submit his/her application for verification by the due date, he or she shall be termed as 'non-practising lawyer' and not 'fake lawyer'," Mohapatra said.