Recently, the Bar Council of India informed the Supreme Court that it is in the process of drafting rules to permit final-year law students to set for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, indicated on Friday that clarity on this matter will be achieved once the new rules are established. The court directed the BCI to update it on the timeline for notifying these rules.
The bench was addressing a petition filed by nine final-year law students from Delhi University, challenging a recent BCI notification that barred them from taking the AIBE prior to their graduation. The AIBE is a requisite for practising law in the Indian Court. The students contended that the existing policy unfairly differentiates between those whose universities have announced results and those whose universities have not. They sought the quashing of the notification and a directive allowing them to take the upcoming AIBE on November 24, to avoid delays in their professional advancement.
The petitioners argued that the BCI’s directive conflicts with a previous Constitution Bench ruling which permitted students nearing the end of their law studies to attempt the AIBE. They also referenced an October 2023 decision by the Telangana High Court, which had instructed the BCI to review the matter in accordance with the constitution bench’s guidance.
The petition, filed by Advocate A Velan, also noted that the suggestion to permit final year students to take the Bar exam had been made by K.V. Vishwanathan, then Amicus Curiae and now a Supreme Court judge. Counsel for the BCI acknowledged that this suggestion is under review.
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