In a public notice, the Bar Council of Delhi recently announced that recalcitrant lawyers violating the rules and regulations of the Bar Council would face prosecution under the Advocates Act, 1961. The Bar Council of Delhi publicly announced that notices of misconduct were issued to lawyers found to have published social media advertisements inclusive of Facebook and WhatsApp. The notice mentioned that lawyers violating or flouting Bar Council rules would face prosecution under the provisions of The Advocates Act, 1961.What is the problem with lawyers advertising their services?According to the rules and regulations in India, advocates are disallowed by publicizing their services. The Advocates Act, 1961’s subsection 1(c) of Section 49 of General power of the Bar Council of India authorized to make rules also empowers the Bar Council of India to create and implement Rules on the standard of professional conduct and etiquette that advocates ought to follow and indeed abide by.Clause 36 under Section IV which is essentially about Duty to Colleagues of the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette that advocates ought to abide by as laid down by the Bar Council of India states that advocates should not be soliciting work or advertising either in a direct or indirect manner through circulars, ads, touts, communicating personally, interviews, giving or organization newspaper comments or obtaining photograph for publishing in regards to cases concerning the lawyer.Besides, the lawyer’s sign-board or name-plate should be of an appropriate size. The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not mention that he is or was President or Members of a Bar Council or of some Association or that the lawyer was attached to any person or organization or with a particular cause or matter that the advocate may have the sp[ecialization in or the other exception to the rule being the lawyer is a former judge or an Advocate-General.An advocate who circumvents these Rules is liable to be prosecuted under Section 35 of The Advocates Act, 1961. Based on this Section sweeping powers including reprimanding or suspending the advocate from practice for a fixed period, removing the advocate’s name from the state roll of advocates and last but not the least, dismissal of the complaint have been granted to a State Bar Council. Click here to consult with registered expert advertising lawyers on Vidhikarya.

If a foreigner is married to someone whose domicile is in India one cannot apply for a spouse visa as there isn’t any scope to avail the visa. The question then arises as to how a foreigner spouse can enter India.   The visa category for Indian citizens with foreigner spouses is an X visa which is essentially entry visa exclusively for taking up residence in India. The X visa is not in lieu of a work permit and one is barred from working with an X Visa and if one does work then one would be violating the law and working illegally.Those visiting India along with their spouse on a tourist visa, it is convertible into X visa or Entry visa so as to remain in the country for longer timescale. The X-visa is for individuals accompanied by their spouse visiting India on the student, employment or any other type of visa for the long term. If one is in India already and intends on transforming one’s visa from tourist to Entry, then, in that case, one most definitely can while be residing in India. The process, however, is long-drawn and therefore the conversion ought to be planned accordingly. Besides, if one has an Indian lineage, one can extend one’s stay in the country by applying for this visa.Eligibility criteria for conversion to Entry Visa from Tourist VisaEvery person visiting India on a tourist visa is not eligible to apply for the X-visa however there are a few criteria that need to be fulfilled to ascertain whether one is eligible for the conversion. and they are:§ A visitor to India on a tourist visa is an Indian by birth. An Indian passport holder or is either the child or the grandchild of a person whose nationality is Indian§ If ancestors were permanent residents of India then one would qualify to apply for X visa§ If one spouse is an Indian citizen then the other spouse can apply for an entry visa directly from their country of origin or alternatively while visiting India as a tourist. If the parent of a child is of Indian origin then the child can apply for X visa if they are permanent residents of a foreign country. However, the parent must be an Indian passport holderSteps for Converting Indian Tourist Visa To Entry Visa§ First and foremost, one ought to check whether one is eligible to apply for the entry visa§ An online form ought to be filled up on the Indian Bureau of Immigration website § Next, the FRRO online form is needed to be duly filled and an appointment scheduled with the FRRO authorities after the form is verified§ One ought to provide the proof of marriage/relationship to the FRRO for drilled-down investigation§ The concerned authorities will perform a background check for winding-up of the process§ According to the background check, the applicant will either be accepted or rejected§ If the application is accepted, the application will be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs and a cross-check will be performed.§ If the application is approved by MHA, the passport will have an X visa or Entry visa. stamping Process Alteration The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) used to regulate the conversion of tourist visas to X-visas at one time. In 2012 all of that changed and since then the applications are reviewed by the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) of MHA.These days a visit to the nation’s capital is unnecessary as the application has to be sent online through the FRRO official website: https://indianfrro.gov.in/eservices/. Once the application is submitted a verification will be done by the concerned FRRO authorities and an appointment scheduled to one’s local FRRO. The status of the application can be tracked online quite seamlessly.Call 7604047601 for consultation with registered expert immigration lawyers on Vidhikarya.