The Association was established on 8th August, 1959 and was formally inaugurated on 2nd April 1960 by the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, in the august presence of the then Vice President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the then Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Chief Justice of India, Law Officers of India, all the Advocate Generals and many other stalwarts of the profession including Presidents of various High Court Bar Associations.
Shri M.C. Setalvad, the first Attorney-General of India was the Founder President of the Association who together with the illustrious Dr. K.M. Munshi and the then Solicitor General of India Shri C.K. Daphtary, and others framed the Constitution of the Association.
The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of India is elected by the Governing Council which is elected every two years. The Governing Council consists of individual members elected from each State and Union Territory by the distinguished individual members of the Association and the nominees of the District and High Court Bar Associations from each State and Union Territory. Presidents of all High Court Bar Associations and the Advocate Generals of the States and U.T.s are ex-officio members of the Governing Council of the Bar Association of India.
The Objective behind the formation of the Bar Association of India was very clearly expressed by its first President Shri M.C. Setalvad in the following words, which resonate with great relevance even today:
"We aim at upholding the Constitution of India, the representative, free and democratic form of government established by it and the promotion of the Rule of Law, we are to endeavour to apply our knowledge and experience in the field of Law to the promotion of the public good... The men of the Law cannot afford to stand aside when the country forging ahead along its newly chosen path.... There are trends in our body politic which seem to make for authoritarianism and draw us toward the rule of a few. Important decision affecting public interest is taken not by governmental agencies but by the parties in power whose dictates seem in turn to be followed by the governments. There is an unmistakable tendency to belittle the function of the judicial process and indeed to interfere with its operations.... Corruption is said to stalk at large and we all know how corruption has in many places led inevitably to the rise of power of autocratic force. It should be the paramount duty of a body composed of men pledged to the smooth and impartial administration of justice and the orderly development of a true democracy to earnestly ponder over these and like situations and take active and energetic measure to counter them in so far as such action may lie within its power."
BAI was structured by its founding fathers as a representative voluntary body of the Indian legal profession. Its Governing Council is composed of members elected by individual members of the Association from each State and Union Territory; members elected by the District Bar Associations and Law Societies and other Bar Associations of each State and Union Territory. The Attorney General for India, Solicitor General of India and the Senior-most Additional Solicitor General of India, Advocate Generals of all States, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Presidents of all High Court Bar Associations are the Ex-officio Members of the Governing Council of the Association.
The Association represents Indian Legal Profession in all the major International Organisations of legal professionals, including International Bar Association (IBA), Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), The Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA), Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) and International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC). The representatives/nominees of BAI have been elected to important positions in these Associations, including to the post of President in the past.
The current President of the Association is Mr. Prashant Kumar and the past Presidents of the Bar Association of India are Late Shri M.C. Setalvad, First Attorney General for India, Late Shri C.K. Daphtary, Former Attorney General for India, Late Shri Lal Narayan Sinha, Former Attorney General for India, Shri K. Parasaran, Former Attorney General for India, Shri F.S. Nariman, Senior Advocate & Past President, LAWASIA, Late Shri Anil B. Divan, Senior Advocate & Past President, LAWASIA, Late Shri R.K.P. Shankardass, Senior Advocate & Past President, International Bar Association and Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Advocate & Past President, Inter-Pacific Bar Association.