The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that foreign law firms cannot open offices in India or practice in Indian courts, Live Law reported. The bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and UU Lalit directed the Centre and the Bar Council of India to frame rules on this.

The court, which upheld a Madras High Court verdict passed in 2012, however allowed foreign lawyers to visit India on a “fly in and fly out” basis to provide clients legal advice on matters related to foreign law. It also ruled that Business Process Outsourcing companies working on legal services can operate in India because they are not required to operate under the ambit of the Advocates Act, The Times of India reported.

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In his submission, senior counsel Rajiv Dutta, who represented the Bar Council along with senior lawyer CU Singh, had cited a judgment in an American case that ruled it was illegal for Mexican lawyers to even provide advice to a client in New York on obtaining divorce in Mexico in accordance with Mexican laws. Senior counsel Sajan Poovayya, who represented a few respondent law firms, had argued that “foreign lawyers coming to India to advice on foreign law are not barred”.

Senior counsel Arvind Datar, who represented six law firms based in the United Kingdom, had urged the bench to uphold the “fly in and fly out” system.

The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, had called upon the Bar Council to exercise its power under Section 49(1)(e) of the Act of 1961 and frame the rules governing the practice of law in India by foreign lawyers and law firms.

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“The rules are needed,” Singh had said. “We want foreign lawyers to come so as to not deny the Indian advocates of the same privilege in other countries. If the BCI does not frame the rules, the central government would take it upon itself to stipulate the rules.”

The bench had reserved the judgment on February 1.