Bar Council of India Rule 36 & IT Act 2000

Terms of Service & Statutory Non-Solicitation

Effective Date: October 2026 • Master Regulatory Version 3.4

        Mandatory Bar Council of India (BCI) Declaration: As per the rules of the Bar Council of India (specifically Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules framed under the Advocates Act, 1961), advocates and legal practitioners in India are strictly prohibited from soliciting work or advertising their practice directly or indirectly. By accessing Vakil.one, the user acknowledges that they are voluntarily seeking information of their own accord without any solicitation, advertisement, inducement, or personal communication from any advocate on this roster.
      

1. The Platform & Intermediary Architecture

Vakil.one is an independent, non-solicitation legal registry discovery platform operating under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as a technology intermediary. Vakil.one does not provide legal representation, legal advice, or dispute solicitation services. All advocates and law firms listed on this registry are verified against official Bar Council rosters and practice independently.

2. Advocate-Client Relationship & Section 126 IEA / Section 132 BSA Privilege

Accessing Vakil.one or transmitting an unassigned case inquiry does not in itself constitute an advocate-client relationship. An advocate-client relationship and the statutory protections of professional communication privilege under Section 126 and 129 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (and Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) attach strictly upon:

Execution of a formal engagement letter, legal retainer agreement, or signed Vakalatnama; and
Completion of mandatory conflict checks by the chosen counsel's chamber.

3. 0% Platform Commission & Direct Bilateral Settlement

Vakil.one adheres to strict Bar Council ethics regarding fee-splitting. Vakil.one charges 0% fee commission on advocate retainers and professional fees. Litigants transact directly with enrolled advocates via verified UPI or RTGS/NEFT accounts. All chamber accounting follows segregated client trust ledger principles compliant with Bar Council rules and TDS Section 194J guidelines.

4. Zero AI Training Guarantee on Case Briefs

Vakil.one provides an irrevocable technical guarantee that no litigant pleadings, private case briefs, evidentiary attachments, or privileged communication uploaded into the Case Brief Dispatch or Chamber Vault will ever be ingested, indexed, trained upon, or utilized for generative AI model improvement.

5. Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction

Any dispute arising out of technical platform usage shall be referred to institutional commercial arbitration under the rules of Nyay.one in New Delhi, in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.