As regards a High Court not established by Royal Charter, section 41 of the Legal Practitioners act,1879, empowered such High Court, with the previous sanction of the Provincial Government, to make rules as to the qualifications and admission of proper persons to be advocates of the CCU .

Punjab was annexed by the British in March, 1849 and by 1 866 the Chief Court of Punjab as established at Lahore. Section 10 of the Punjab Chief Court Act of 1866 laid down qualifications of person who were permitted to appear and act as pleaders in the Chief Court. This section ran as follows:

(1) Any person duly authorised by the Secretary of State for India in Council to appear, plead or act on his behalf,

(2) any suitor appearing, pleading or acting on his own behalf or on behalf of a co-suitor, and

(3) any person who, for the time being, is an advocate, vakil or attorney-at- law of any of the High Courts of Judicature in India or of the Sudder Court of the North-Western shall be permitted to appear and act as the pleader of any suitor in the Chief Court in any suit or touching any matter whatever. Save as aforesaid, no person shall be permitted to appear or act as the pleader of any suitor in the Chief Court in any suit or touching any matter -whatever, unless such persons shall have been previously licensed by the court to act for the suiter of such court generally, or specially for the particular occasion. It shall be lawful for the judges to make rules for the qualifications and admission of proper persons to act as pleaders in the courts".

This was repealed some years later when the Legal Practitioners Act was passed by the Indian Legislature and the Chief Court framed Rules thereunder laying down that any person who as a Member of the English Bar or of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland was eligible for admission as an advocate. There was two classes of pleaders :

( i ) pleaders of the first grade entitled to practise before the Chief Courts, and

(ii) pleaders of the second grade entitled to practise before subordinate courts

The qualification for admission as a second grade pleader was a diploma for having passed the “Licentiate-in-law Examination held by the University which was open to students who had gone. through a course of teaching in the law college extending over three years. After practising in 7 subordinate courts for two years, pleaders of the second grade were eligible to be enrolled as pleaders of the first grade. Rules were also framed for admission of mukhtars. Under the rules as amended in 1890, mukhtars of the first grade were permitted to appear in the Chief Court. A feature was that unlike in Bengal and other Provinces, a mukhtar in the Punjab could _ before subordinate civil courts and also in criminal courts. Fresh recruitment of mukhtars in the Punjab was stopped in 1914, but those who had been already enrolled were permitted to continue to practise as before.

The High Courts of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Allahabad and Patna all prescribed qualifications for enrolment of attorneys. It is necessary only to refer to the rules of the Calcutta and Bombay High courts where the attorneys are practising in large numbers, in Calcutta they had to serve as articled clerks for five years and in Bombay, for three years. They had to pass three examinations in Calcutta and one in Bombay. The attorneyship examinations were held under the auspices of the High Court and were well known for their high standard. According to the Calcutta rules, a candidate had to secure 50 percent marks in each subject and 621/2 percent in the aggregate. As articled clerks, they got thorough practical training which well equipped them for the profession they chose to adopt.