Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:

Prefatory Note Statement of Objects and Reasons. The Banking Companies (Legal Practitioners' Clients' Accounts) Act, 1949 was enacted with a view to restricting the liability of banking companies in connection with transactions by legal practitioners. This Act, inter alia, provides for restriction of liability of banking companies in certain cases which relate to the keeping of account in banking companies by legal practitioners for clients' money.

2. The Commission on Review of Administrative Laws, which was set up by the Government of India on the 8th May, 1998 recommended the repeal of the said Act.

3. Reserve Bank of India has also expressed the view that, in practice, no legal practitioner has been opening or operating any clients' account with the banking companies and, therefore, the protection given in the said Act to the banking companies has become redundant.

4. In pursuance of the recommendation of the said Commission and the views expressed by the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Government proposes to repeal the said Act.

5. The Bill seeks to achieve the above object.