Adv. Shani A.R vs Bar Council Of Kerala on 19 January, 2026

Author: Bechu Kurian Thomas

Bench: Bechu Kurian Thomas

WP(C) No.42845 of 2025            1




                                                   2026:KER:4464

             IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                                 PRESENT

         THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS

  MONDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026 / 29TH POUSHA, 1947

                         WP(C) NO. 42845 OF 2025

PETITIONERS:

     1       ADV. SHANI A.R., AGED 24 YEARS
             D/O ANI, REEJA BHAVAN, POZHUTHIL, VENGANOOR.
             P.O., VIZHINJAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA,, PIN
             - 695523

     2       ADV. NAVEEN PRINCE,AGED 24 YEARS
             S/O PRINCE JOSE, ADUPPUKALLUMKAL, TEKKOY,
             MEENACHIL, KOTTAYAM, KERALA,, PIN - 686580

     3       ADV. MOHAMMED DHULQR SHAN,AGED 24 YEARS
             S/O ABDUL JABBAR K C, CHENDRATHIL HOUSE,
             POKKAKKILLATH, CHIRAMANANGAD P.O.,THRISSUR,
             KERALA,, PIN - 680604

     4       ADV. VARSHA THOMAS,AGED 25 YEARS
             D/O THOMAS N. JOSEPH, 2180 A, NADUVILATHAYIL
             HOUSE, KASTHURBA NAGAR, KADAVANTHARA, P.O.,
             ERNAKULAM, KERALA,, PIN - 682020

     5       ADV. ANUVIND P,AGED 23 YEARS
             S/O K.S. PRAVEEN, 17/675(2), NANDANAM,
             PATHIRAPPALLY ROAD, POOJAPPURA,
             THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA,, PIN - 695012

     6       ADV. JEROME V. SHEEN,AGED 24 YEARS
             S/O SHEEN GEORGE, VENKALAKADAYIL, KIZHAKKETHERUVU
             P.O., KOTTARAKKARA, KOLLAM, KERALA,, PIN - 691506

     7       ADV. SHALVIN CHAMATHAKAL ROBIN,AGED 24 YEARS
             AGED 24 YEARS, S/O ROBIN VARGHESE JOHN,
             CHAMATHAKAL, OTHERA EAST P O, ERAVIPEROOR,
             THIRUVALLA, PATHANAMTHITTA, KERALA, PIN - 689546
 WP(C) No.42845 of 2025              2




                                                            2026:KER:4464

              BY ADVS.
              SHRI.SHINTO MATHEW ABRAHAM
              SRI.ARUN THOMAS
              SMT.VEENA RAVEENDRAN
              SMT.KARTHIKA MARIA
              SRI.ANIL SEBASTIAN PULICKEL
              SMT.LEAH RACHEL NINAN
              SHRI.MATHEW NEVIN THOMAS
              SHRI.KARTHIK RAJAGOPAL
              SHRI.KURIAN ANTONY MATHEW
              SMT.APARNNA S.
              SHRI.NOEL NINAN NINAN
              SHRI.ADEEN NAZAR
              SHRI.ARUN JOSEPH MATHEW
              SHRI.ROHAN MATHEW


RESPONDENTS:

     1        BAR COUNCIL OF KERALA
              BAR COUNCIL OF KERALA BHAVAN, HIGH COURT CAMPUS,
              ERNAKULAM, KOCHI, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,,
              PIN - 682032

     2        BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
              21, ROUSE AVENUE INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI,
              REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,, PIN - 110002


              BY ADVS.
              SMT.M.U.VIJAYALAKSHMI
              SRI.K.JAJU BABU (SR.)



OTHER PRESENT:

              R2-ADV.RAJIT
       THIS     WRIT     PETITION   (CIVIL)      HAVING    COME    UP    FOR
ADMISSION      ON    19.01.2026,        THE   COURT   ON   THE    SAME   DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WP(C) No.42845 of 2025                3




                                                              2026:KER:4464

                       BECHU KURIAN THOMAS,J
                    ------------------------------------
                       WP(C) No.42845 of 2025
                    ------------------------------------
                Dated this the 19th day of January, 2026

                                  JUDGMENT

Petitioners are all advocates who are members of the Bar

Council of Kerala. The issue raised in this writ petition relates to the

enrollment fee demanded and collected by the 1st respondent.

2. Petitioners alleged that an exorbitant amount of

Rs.5,000/- was collected by the Bar Council of Kerala in excess of the

permitted fee of Rs.750/- as contemplated under Section 24(1)(f) of

the Advocates Act towards enrollment of Advocates. According to the

petitioners, the excess payment of Rs.5,000/- per person is to be

refunded since in Gaurav Kumar v. Union of India [(2025) 1 SCC

641], it was declared that the 1st respondent could not collect any

fee in excess of Rs.750/- prescribed by law.

3. A counter affidavit has been filed by the 1 st respondent

wherein, in paragraph No.5, it is affirmed that, in the light of the

judgment (wrongly mentioned as Ext.P3 instead of Ext.P2), if the

petitioners approach the 1st respondent, the fee in excess of the

statutory enrollment fee and stamp duty amounting to Rs.750/-

would be refunded.

4. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners, the

2026:KER:4464

learned Standing Counsel for the 1 st respondent, as well as the

learned Standing Counsel for the 2nd respondent.

5. The issue raised in this writ petition lies in a narrow

compass and relates to refund of the excess fee collected by the 1st

respondent in connection with enrollment of the petitioners and since

in paragraph 5 of the counter affidavit the said respondent has

agreed to refund the excess amount to the petitioners, I am of the

view that further consideration of the contentions raised in this writ

petition becomes only an academic nature.

6. Having regard to the admitted averments in the counter

affidavit of the 1st respondent, there will be a direction to the 1 st

respondent to return the excess fee collected from the petitioners

immediately, at any rate, within a period of two weeks from the date

of receipt of a copy of this judgment. Needless to mention that in the

light of the declaration of law by the Supreme Court in Gaurav

Kumar's case cited supra, the 1st respondent cannot collect anything

more towards enrollment fee other than the statutorily fixed fee and

stamp duty amounting to Rs.750/-.

The writ petition is disposed of as above.

Sd/-

BECHU KURIAN THOMAS,JUDGE

2026:KER:4464

APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 42845 OF 2025

PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS

Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 1ST PETITIONER, DATED 16-07-2025 Exhibit P1A A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 2ND PETITIONER, DATED 16-07-2025 Exhibit P1B A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 3RD PETITIONER, DATED 16-07-2025 Exhibit P1C A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 4TH PETITIONER, DATED 16-07-2025 Exhibit P1D A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 5TH PETITIONER, DATED 17-07-2025 Exhibit P1E A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 6TH PETITIONER, DATED 16-07-2025 Exhibit P1F A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE OF THE 7TH PETITIONER, DATED 10-09-2025 Exhibit P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE HON'BLE SUPREME COURT IN GAURAV KUMAR V. UNION OF INDIA, (2025) 1 SCC 641 DATED 30-07-2024 Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE HON'BLE SUPREME COURT IN KIRAN BABU V. KARNATAKA STATE BAR COUNCIL, 2025 KHC 7437, DATED 04-08-2025 Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE HON'BLE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DATED 03-11-2025, IN RAVICHANDRAGOUDA R. PATIL V. KARNATAKA STATE BAR COUNCIL & OTHERS Exhibit P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 1ST PETITIONER, DATED 09-09-2025, Exhibit P5A A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 2ND PETITIONER, DATED 09-09-2025

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Exhibit P5B A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 3RD PETITIONER, DATED 10-09-2025 Exhibit P5C A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 4TH PETITIONER, DATED 10-09-2025 Exhibit P5D A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 5TH PETITIONER, DATED 09-09-2025 Exhibit P5E A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 6TH PETITIONER, DATED 10-09-2025 Exhibit P5F A TRUE COPY OF THE ENROLMENT FEE RECEIPT OF THE 7TH PETITIONER, DATED 10-09-2025 Exhibit P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 1ST PETITIONER, DATED 11-10-2025 Exhibit P6A A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 2ND PETITIONER, DATED 12-10-2025 Exhibit P6B A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 3RD PETITIONER, DATED 11-10-2025 Exhibit P6C A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 4TH PETITIONER, DATED 12-10-2025 Exhibit P6D A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 5TH PETITIONER, DATED 12-10-2025 Exhibit P6E A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 6TH PETITIONER, DATED 12-10-2025 Exhibit P6F A TRUE COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL ENROLMENT CERTIFICATE OF THE 7TH PETITIONER, DATED 12-10-2025 Exhibit P7 A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 1ST PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025 Exhibit P7A A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 2ND PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025 Exhibit P7B A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 3RD PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025

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Exhibit P7C A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 4TH PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025 Exhibit P7D A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 5TH PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025 Exhibit P7E A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 6TH PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 04- 11-2025 Exhibit P7F A TRUE COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT BY 7TH PETITIONER TO 1ST RESPONDENT, DATED 05- 11-2025