Notaries Amendment Bill: Former PM Deve Gowda Urges PM Modi To Drop Proposal To Limit Notaries' Term As 15 Years

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to drop the proposed Amendment to Section 5 of the Notaries Act, 1952, which seeks to restrict the term of a Notary is to 5 years and further imposes a limitation on the number of terms a Notary's certificate of practice can be renewed. The proposed amendments would mean that the maximum term of a Notary will be 15 years. The existing law does not impose any limit on the number of times the extension of appointment can be sought by a notary.

In his letter dated January 23, it is stated that "I am writing this letter in the interest of more than seventy-five thousand Notaries in our country who will be seriously prejudiced and irremediably disadvantaged if the proposed amendment to Section 5 of the Notaries Act is passed and enacted."

The letter reads "The transition of an advocate to a Notary is permanent and irreversible. Law is dynamic in nature and the Profession of Law is evolving at a pace faster than ever. In such circumstances, it is untenable to expect Notaries who haven't practised law for over 15 years to return to the profession of Advocacy and compete with experienced advocates."

The letter also raises doubts on the Constitutional validity of the proposed Amendment. It is said, "A letter received from the Karnataka State Notaries Welfare Trust states that the Amendment Proposed to Section 5 of the Notaries Act, 1952 is violative of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 309 of the Constitution of India."

Accordingly, ex-PM Gowda urged the Prime Minister to accede to the plea of the Notaries across India and in their best interest, drop the proposed amendment to section 5 of the Notaries Act, 1952. A copy of the letter is also forwarded to the Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju.

It was in December last year that the Government published the Draft Notaries Amendment Bill inviting comments from the public. In a press release, the Law Ministry had said that comments about the bill could be submitted till December 15.