What happened
The Bar Council of India issued a circular on July 17 setting social-media rules for advocates, law students, and legal interns. The circular treats social-media conduct as a matter of professional discipline, not merely personal expression.
The Bar Council of India has prohibited content that sensationalises court proceedings, hearings, chambers, or professional work. It has also barred reels, videos, and promotional photographs inside courts, court corridors, bar rooms, chambers, or judicial buildings when such material undermines the dignity of the legal process.
The circular further restricts clipping or circulating livestreamed hearings with captions, music, commentary, thumbnails, or voiceovers that ridicule or distort judges, lawyers, litigants, or witnesses. It also targets AI-generated images, deepfakes, voice-cloned recordings, fabricated judgments, misleading legal advice, undisclosed AI-generated legal content, clickbait legal claims, and misuse of professional identity.
Background and earlier position
The legal profession already depends on confidentiality, accuracy, and restraint in public communication. The Bar Council of India’s circular extends those professional norms to social media and synthetic-media risks.
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