Profession - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition profession

Definition :

Profession, 'one of a limited number of occupation or vocations involving special learning and carry-ing a social prestige -- the learned professional, law, medicine, and the church', New Lexicon Webster Dictionary, p. 798.

A profession ordinarily is an occupation requiring intellectual skill, often coupled with manual skill. Thus a teacher uses purely intellectual skill while a painter uses both. In any event, they are not engaged in an occupation in which employers and employees co-operates in the production or sale of commodities or arrangement for their production or sale or distribution and their services cannot be described as material services, Safdarjung Hospital v. Kuldip Singh Sethi, AIR 1970 SC 1407 (1413): (1970) 1 SCC 735; see also Sodan Singh v. NDNC, (1989) 4 SCC 155.

Calling, vocation, known employment; divinity, physic, and law are called the learned professions.

Includes business, Pioneer Motors v. Municipal Council Ngarcoil, AIR 1967 SC 684: 1961 (3) SCR 609.

Profession, is normally associated with the exercise of intellectual or Technical equipment resulting from learning of science. Agriculture which involves physical labour and toil may not be a profession, Sankaranarayan Pillai v. Executive Officer, AIR 1966 Mad 262: 1966 (1) Mad LJ 84: 1966 Cr LJ 764: 1966 Mad LJ (Cr) 85: 1966 Mad LW (Cr) 80.

Means 'one of the chief objects of the Inns of court was to make provision for the practical study of the common law and for the instruction of all their members in that science. The system of education consisted of reading on statutes, moots or arguments on points of law, chiefly real property law, and the putting of cases. The members of the Inns of court, before they could become practitioners, were obliged to attend at and take part in some of these exercises, Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th Edn., Vol. 3, p. 587.

Means a vocation or occupation requiring special usually advanced education, knowledge and skill, e.g. law or medical professions. Also refers to whole body of such professions', Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edn.

Means an occupation requiring either purely intellectual skill, or of manual skill controlled as in painting and sculpture, or surgery by the intellectual skill of the operator, as distinguished from an occupation which is substantially the production or sale or arrangement for the production or sale of commodities, Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha, AIR 1996 SC 550.

Means an occupation requiring intellectual skill, often coupled with manual skill, Management of Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi v. Kuldip Singh Sethi, AIR 1970 SC 1407: 1970 (1) SCC 735.

Means the profession of occupational or physio-therapy, as the case may be. [Maharashtra State Council for Occupational Therapy and Physio-therapy Act, 2002, s. 2(f)]

Profession, organisation, which impart advanced learning in a particular field of profession such as law, medicine or engineering for attainment of special knowledge as distinguished from mere skill are professional institutions, Tmt. Kannammal Educational Trust v. University of Madras, AIR 1996 Mad 303. [See T.N. Private College (Regulations) Act, (19 of 1976), s. 3]