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Powers, jurisdiction of BCI

SC: Can BCI hold bar exam?

The Times of India, Mar 02 2016

Dhananjay Mahapatra

The Supreme Court questioned the Bar Council of India’s authority to conduct the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), which a law graduate has to clear to be eligible to practise in a court. A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit asked BCI whether it had statutory backing to con duct the examination. “A committee appointed by the SC had recommended amendments to the Advocates Act before conducting such an examination. But you (BCI) went ahead with the AIBE merely on the basis of a resolution,” it said.

“You can make rules and regulations to stop malpractices by advocates. But to make clearing of an examination mandatory for a law graduate to be able to practise is like negating a lawyer’s right to appear in court?” the bench asked. The bench asked BCI’s counsel Ardhendumauli Prasad to come prepared to answer these fundamental questions.

“You are a body which is regulating advocates and yet you have no answers. Are you a law unto yourself ?” it asked.

The bench clarified that it was not against holding the examination per se. “But without an amendment to the Act, can you hold the ex amination?” it asked.

The Law Commission of India, in its 184th report to the government in 2002, had recommended amendment of the UGC Act for setting up a ‘Legal Education Committee’ and amendment of the Advocates Act to set up a similar committee by the BCI.

The commission had recommended that “a law graduate shall get training from advocates having 10 years experience in courts and should also qualify bar exam before being allowed to practice”. However, the BCI, under the chairmanship of then solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, passed a resolution to conduct AIBE and went ahead with it from 2010.

See also

Bar associations: India

Bar Council of India

Law firms: India

Lawyers: India