Telangana High Court directs BCI to decide on whether final year law students can write AIBE

The Telangana High Court recently directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to take a decision on whether to allow law students in their final semester to take part in the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). [Rajasekhar Simma v Bar Council of India]

Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy directed the BCI to examine a student’s representation in this regard.

The decision is to be taken by the BCI within two weeks and communicated to the student, the High Court ordered.

While taking the decision, the BCI has also been asked to take note of the observations made by the Supreme Court in Bar Council of India vs. Bonni FOI Law College and others, whereby the top court upheld the validity of AIBE in a February 10 ruling.

The High Court was hearing an Osmania University student’s plea against a notification issued by the BCI on August 16 with regard to the schedule for AIBE-XVIII. 

The petitioner submitted that the BCI had failed to provide final year or final semester LLB students an option to appear in the examination, despite the Supreme Court's observations in its February judgment.

In response, the BCI said that a Committee has been constituted by it to examine the recommendations of the Supreme Court.

While upholding the validity of AIBE earlier this year, the top observed that students who were eligible to pursue the final semester of their law course and had cleared all examinations until then could be allowed to take the All India bar exam.

“The result of the All India Bar Examination would be subject to the person passing all the components required under the course of study of the University/College. This would be subject to the All India Bar Examination results being valid for a specified period of time,” a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had said in the verdict.

The High Court has now asked the BCI to factor this aspect as well while taking its decision on the matter.

Advocate N Krishna Sumanth represented the petitioner (law student).

Advocate D Pallavi represented the Bar Council of Telangana. 

Standing Counsel Ch Jaganatha Rao represented the Osmania University

[Read Order]