BCI Issues Social Media Guidelines for Advocates and Others

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a circular dated 17th July, 2026, containing social media guidelines for advocates and others. The circular seeks to direct Advocates, law students, interns, Bar Associations, State Bar Councils, Centres of Legal Education and social media intermediaries to maintain dignity, restraint and professional ethics in the use of social media, and prohibiting reels, sensational clips or disparaging content relating to Courts, judicial proceedings and the legal profession.

Background of Social Media Rules for Lawyers

The Council stated that it had taken note of a growing tendency among some Advocates, law students, interns and social media users to create and circulate reels, videos, edited clips, memes and promotional posts depicting Court premises, chambers, internships and, in some cases, portions of live-streamed Court proceedings. It also recorded concern over selective clipping and captioning of live-streamed proceedings with mocking or scandalising commentary directed at Judges, counsel or litigants, and over legal misinformation spread through fake judgments, fabricated extracts of orders and posts promising guaranteed outcomes.

The circular on BCI Social Media Guidelines for Advocates referred to an earlier advisory issued by the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association cautioning Advocates against videos and reels around High Court premises. It also recorded that a sub-committee constituted on 08.06.2026 examined a draft social media circular, that the sub-committee's report was placed before the BCI's General Council on 11.07.2026 and approved with modifications, and that on 14.07.2026 the Supreme Court, in Anil Pandey and Another v. The Bar Council of India, vide a writ petition, issued notice to the BCI in a public interest petition raising similar concerns, returnable on 15.09.2026.

Social Media Rules for Advocates

The circular containing BCI’s social media guidelines for Advocates and others is issued under Section 7(1)(b), 7(1)(d) and 7(1)(g) of the Advocates Act, 1961 (concerning the BCI's power to lay down standards of professional conduct, safeguard Advocates' interests and supervise State Bar Councils), Section 49(1)(c) (rule-making power) and Section 35 (disciplinary action for professional misconduct, under which the disciplinary committee may dismiss a complaint, reprimand an Advocate, suspend an Advocate from practice, or remove an Advocate's name from the State roll). It states that it applies existing duties under the Preamble to Chapter II, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules and Rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 15, 17, 18, 24, 36 and 37 to digital and social media conduct, and does not create an independent ethical code. It also refers to the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, as applicable to misuse involving AI tools, deepfakes and personal data.

Conduct Advocates Need to Refrain From

The circular lists conduct Advocates are "advised and called upon to refrain from," including:

Making reels, videos or promotional content inside Court premises, courtrooms or chambers in a manner inconsistent with dignity and decorum, or using robes and bands for public display contrary to Rules 5 and 7;
Recording Court proceedings (physical, virtual or hybrid) unless permitted by applicable court rules or, in their absence, by written approval of the Court/Registrar General;
Clipping, editing or circulating live-streamed proceedings with captions or commentary that ridicule, mock, distort or scandalise Judges, counsel, litigants or witnesses;
Using Court buildings, robes, briefs, cause lists or client documents as props for personal publicity or social media branding;
Publishing content amounting to direct or indirect advertising, solicitation or commercial self-promotion;
Disclosing confidential client, case or chamber information;
Permitting interns, juniors or staff to publish content the Advocate is not permitted to publish;
Commenting on pending matters in a manner that may prejudice proceedings;
Using anonymous or proxy accounts to circumvent professional ethics;
Creating, uploading or circulating AI-generated images, deepfake videos, voice-cloned audio or synthetic content depicting Judges, Courts, counsel, litigants or Court proceedings;
Using clickbait or outcome guarantees such as "guaranteed bail" or "sure acquittal";
Purchasing fake followers, engagement or testimonials, or failing to disclose the use of AI tools in content generation;
Falsely claiming personal presence, appearance or success in a matter; and
Disclosing case numbers, bail orders, pleadings, medical papers or other sensitive material that compromises confidentiality or privacy.

The BCI’s circular containing social media rules for lawyers clarifies that ordinary personal life, dress and lawful personal social media use are not sought to be policed; the concern arises where personal content is deliberately linked to professional identity, Court access or client work.

Positive Use of Social Media Not Prohibited

The BCI clarified that the social media guidelines for advocates do not discourage responsible legal awareness, academic discussion of judgments, accurate legal reporting, public legal education, constitutional literacy, case-law updates, and short-form legal education (reels, shorts, carousels, podcast clips) provided such content is accurate, non-soliciting, non-confidential and non-sensational, and does not convert legal questions into misleading outcome assurances. The line is stated to be crossed when content becomes promotional, sensational, misleading, mocking, defamatory, scandalising, contemptuous, commercially exploitative, or is based on fabricated judgments or fake citations.

Advocates who disseminate legal awareness content and hold themselves out as Advocates are advised to disclose their full name, State Bar Council and enrolment number as a measure of transparency, not advertisement. Persons not enrolled as Advocates are advised not to describe themselves as Advocates or create an impression of being authorised to give legal advice; law students and interns may participate in academic legal discussion but must avoid holding themselves out as Advocates.

Provisions for Law Students and Interns

Centres of Legal Education are required to obtain a standalone written undertaking from every student at admission to LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D., certificate or diploma courses, and a separate undertaking before commencement of every internship. Students and interns are advised not to make reels or record hearings, client conferences or chamber discussions without applicable court-rule or written approval, not to disclose client names, case details or chamber strategy, and not to publish "day in Court," "case file" or "lawyer life" content that trivialises Court work or confidentiality. Centres of Legal Education are asked to include an orientation module titled "Digital Ethics, Court Decorum, Confidentiality and Professional Responsibility during Internships," maintain a register of undertakings, and report serious or repeated misuse to the concerned University, State Bar Council or the BCI.

Senior Advocates, chambers, law firms and Bar Associations are asked to brief interns and juniors on the first day of engagement regarding no recording, no reels and no AI/synthetic depiction of real persons or proceedings, with monitoring described as intended to be educative and proportionate rather than a tool for personal rivalry or moral policing.

Sworn Affidavit at Enrolment and Compliance Mechanism

Every candidate seeking enrolment as an Advocate may be required to execute a standalone sworn affidavit acknowledging these standards, which the circular describes as declaratory, educative and evidentiary, not creating any additional ground to refuse or defer enrolment beyond the Advocates Act, 1961. For Advocates already in practice, State Bar Councils and Bar Associations are asked to circulate the circular and encourage members to sign an annexed stakeholder declaration. The circular clarifies that a mere complaint, unverified screenshot or social media dispute shall not by itself be a ground to deny or delay enrolment.

Implementation Mechanism

Each State Bar Council is directed to designate a Digital Ethics Committee or Digital Ethics Nodal Group, comprising Bar Council members, senior Bar members and support staff, to receive complaints, counsel first-time violators, seek voluntary deletion, and refer serious or repeated violations to the competent authority. State Bar Councils are asked to open an online portal or dedicated email address for complaints, requiring the URL, screenshot, date/time and a bona fide declaration from the complainant. Breaches are to be graded as minor, serious or aggravated, with responses ranging from counselling and warnings to disciplinary proceedings, depending on severity. The BCI may also constitute a BCI Digital Ethics Nodal Cell to liaise with social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, X and WhatsApp for takedown or escalation requests.

Consequences of Violation

The circular states that violations may invite disciplinary proceedings under the Advocates Act, 1961; reference to the State Bar Council or BCI; reporting to the concerned Court or Registry; proceedings for contempt of court; civil or criminal action where content is defamatory or privacy-invasive; withdrawal of internship; and requirements of deletion, correction or apology, besides communication to the concerned intermediary or platform under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Draft Rules Chapter and Annexures

The circular states that it operates with immediate effect as a professional direction under the existing Advocates Act, 1961 and BCI Rules, independent of a proposed separate chapter on digital ethics that may later be inserted into the Bar Council of India Rules through the statutory rule-making process under Section 49. It is accompanied by six annexures:

Annexure A (standalone sworn affidavit at enrolment),
Annexure B (undertaking for law students at admission and before internship),
Annexure C (stakeholder declaration for State Bar Councils, Bar Associations, law firms, chambers and Centres of Legal Education),
Annexure D (request format addressed to social media intermediaries and platforms),
Annexure E (format for approved public legal awareness content), and
Annexure F (disclosure and disclaimer format for legal awareness content creators, including disclosure of AI tool usage).