Legal Practitioner With 'Benchmark Disability' Having 7 Years Experience Can Apply For Appointment As Notary: Centre Amends Notary Rules

A legal practitioner with seven years experience who is 'a person with benchmark disability' can make an application for appointment as a notary.

The Centre notified Notaries (Amendment) Rules, 2021 which inserts the following clause in Rule 3 of Notaries Rules, 1956.

""(ac) a person with benchmark disability as defined in Clause (r) of Section 2 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (49 of 2016), who has been practicing for at least seven years, as a legal practitioner."

"Person with benchmark disability" means a person with not less than forty per cent. of a specified disability where specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority;

The following are the qualifications required for appointment as a notary:

1. A  person had been practicing at least for ten years,
2. A person belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes had been practicing at least for seven years
3. A  woman who had been practicing at least for seven years, as a legal practitioner, or
4. He had been a member of the Indian Legal Services under the Central Government,
5. He had been at least for ten years,- (i) a member of Judicial Service; or (ii) held an office under the Central Government or a State Government requiring special knowledge of law after enrolment as an advocate; or (iii) held an office in the department of Judge Advocate General or in the legal department of the armed forces.

Both Central and State Government can appoint Notaries to perform the following functions:

1. (a) verify, authenticate, certify or attest the execution of any instrument;
2. (b) present any promissory note, hundi or bill of exchange for acceptance or payment or demand better security;
3. (c) note or protest the dishonour by non-acceptance or non-payment of any promissory note, hundi or bill of exchange or protest for better security or prepare acts of honour under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (XXVI of 1881), or serve notice of such note or protest;
4. (d) note and draw up ship's protest, boat's protest or protest relating to demurrage and other commercial matters;
5. (e) administer oath to, or take affidavit from, any person;
6. (f) prepare bottomry and respondentia bonds, charter parties and other mercantile documents;
7. (g) prepare, attest or authenticate any instrument intended to take effect in any country or place outside India in such form and language as may conform to the law of the place where such deed is entitled to operate;
8. (h) translate, and verify the translation of, any document, from one language into another;
9. (ha) act as a Commissioner to record evidence in any civil or criminal trial if so directed by any court or authority;
10. (hb) act as an arbitrator, mediator or conciliator, if so required;
11. (i) any other act which may be prescribed.

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