Apex Court Allows Final-Year Law Students To Appear For AIBE XIX On 24 November
The Supreme Court today permitted final-year law students to appear in the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) scheduled for November 24, issuing an interim order in a petition challenging the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) decision to exclude them from the exam.
The Bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra noted that while the BCI requested more time to frame relevant rules, final-year students should not be forced to lose a year due to the delay.
“We direct that the BCI shall permit the registration of all students who fall within the ambit of Paragraph 38 of the Bonnie Foi Decision. This direction shall apply to all final-year students, not just the petitioners,” the Bench ordered.
Paragraph 38 of the Bonnie FOI judgment allows final-year law students who have cleared all previous exams to take the AIBE, with results contingent on passing their remaining academic requirements.
At the outset, the Counsel for BCI informed the Bench that the rules would be ready in four to six weeks. "Work is already happening on it. Within four to six weeks, my statement may be recorded. We will have the rules ready," she submitted.
The Counsel for the petitioners opposed the time frame sought by BCI as it would exclude them from appearing in the upcoming AIBE. He submitted, "That would essentially exclude me from this exam (scheduled on November 24, 2024)."
The BCI's counsel argued that the exams have to be as per the rules. "There is an AIBE committee headed by the Hon'ble Judge, academicians, and all of that," she contended.
During the hearing, the Court expressed concern that despite the February 2023 ruling, the BCI had not yet framed the necessary rules and emphasized that the interim order would apply across the board for the upcoming AIBE.
Pertinently, on September 13, the BCI had informed the Court that it is in process of framing the procedure/rules for the same. The PIL has been filed by nine final-year law students enrolled in the 3-year LL.B. program at Campus law Centre and Law centre-1, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
The writ petition filed through AoR A. Velan and Advocate Navpreet Kaur argued that the BCI notification is contrary to the Supreme Court's previous ruling in Bar Council of India v. Bonnie FOI Law College, where a Constitution Bench had permitted final-semester students to sit for the AIBE, subject to their completion of the law degree. The Bench had also directed the BCI to conduct the exam twice a year.
In their petition, the students contend that the BCI’s notification is arbitrary and unreasonable, arguing that it disregards the varying timelines of universities in declaring results, which unfairly impacts students from institutions where results are delayed. The petitioners claim that the impugned notification will result in the loss of valuable time for their professional careers, as it prevents them from sitting for the AIBE and consequently delays their entry into the legal profession.
"The petitioner would lose valuable time in pursuing their professional endeavours in the light of the restrictive eligibility criteria for undertaking the said examination. It is to be noted that the passing of AIBE is a condition precedent for considering the candidature of the petitioners in various organizations. Hence the present writ petition is filed under article 32 of the constitution of India for violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 19(1)(g), 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950," the petition read.
The petition seeks three primary reliefs:
1. The quashing of the BCI notification.
2. A direction allowing final-semester law students to appear in the AIBE-XIX.
3. An interim stay on the enforcement of the notification until the matter is resolved.
Cause Title: Nilay Rai & Ors v. Bar Council of India [W.P.(C)No. 577 of 2024]