Law Graduates Must Quit Their Jobs Within 6 Months Of Passing AIBE To Provisionally Register As Advocates – BCI To SC
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has passed a resolution for the law graduates to provisionally register themselves as Advocates. The Resolution states that law graduates must quit their jobs within a timeframe of six months from the date of passing the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) to register as Advocates.
The Resolution also mentions that law graduates who remain in employment for 5 years or more, have no connection/relationship with legal or judicial matters, and seek to re-join the legal profession, will be required to clear the AIBE exam.
The BCI passed the resolution keeping in view the acceptance of the suggestion by the Supreme Court that persons engaged in other employments can be allowed to provisionally enroll as Advocates.
The suggestion was put forward by the Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate KV Vishwanathan in BCI's appeal against the judgment of the Gujarat High Court that had permitted persons with other employments whether full-time or part-time to register as Advocates without resigning from their jobs.
The BCI in its counter affidavit had stated that every State Bar Council shall have three registers –
Register A shall contain names of candidates who pass AIBE and are issued Certificate of Practice and continue to be in the legal profession.
Register B will contain names of candidates who are in service or job elsewhere and have been allowed to appear in AIBE with an undertaking to give up their jobs within a period of 6 months from their AIBE result.
The seniority of such candidates shall be counted from the date of giving up their employment and they shall be issued a Certificate of Practice (COP) of AIBE after they furnish the undertaking that they have left the employment.
Register C shall include the names of persons who get themselves enrolled with the State Bar Council, clear the AIBE, and get their license suspended in order to take up some job/employment.
The resolution will be placed before the Apex Court in a 'sealed cover.'
The Council has also contended that the Monitoring Committee of AIBE will be headed by a former Judge who has been nominated.
The details of the committee will be forwarded in a 'sealed cover.'
Cause Title - Bar Council of India v. Twinkle Rahul Mangonkar And Ors. Civil Appeal No. 816-817 of 2022