Supreme Court Raises Concerns About Fresh Law Graduates Joining Judiciary, Low AIBE Standards & Politicisation Of Bar

The Supreme Court on Tuesday called upon the Bar Council of India, Bar Councils of all states, the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), and Bar Associations for all High Courts to provide suggestions for strengthening and enhancing the Bar Associations.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankar Datta impleaded the aforementioned entities in a case where the Court is considering the laying down of guidelines for enhancing the institutions of Bar Associations all over the country.

In the meantime, the court has requested senior advocates who have already appeared in the matter to provide their suggestions.

Issues of AIBE, fresh law graduates joining the judiciary, politicisation of the bar

During the proceedings today, the judges highlighted several issues.

Justice Surya Kant criticized the low standard of the All-India Bar Examination conducted in India at the end of college, comparing it to matriculation level due to popularity and vote-driven motives of the bar council members. He called for significant remedial measures to address these issues.

“Look at the quality of examination they are conducting. The standard is of matriculation. All because of the popularity issues. They also need votes they need to be elected. And when you want to have a monopoly, then you need more and more these kind of indulgences”, he said.

Justice Surya Kant said that one of the suggestions is the requirement of a minimum practice period before admitting anyone to the High Court or Supreme Court bars. He pointed out that the lack of such requirements has led to numerous malpractices.

He also shared an experience from his tenure as Advocate General of Haryana, where he opposed a PIL demanding that the state provide adequate space for lawyers' chambers. Post his elevation, the government policy changed, leading to the selling and renting out of chambers, he said. He also highlighted the issue of space in faced by the Supreme Court for providing chambers for lawyers.

Justice Dipankar Datta raised the issue of politics within Bar bodies, describing it as the biggest pain currently faced. He called for solutions to eliminate politics from these associations, stressing that lawyers are officers of the court and should not engage in political activities.

“This is not a place to do politics. You are all officers of the court, you will assist us in dispensing justice. But outside the court and within the court premises, what is happening?”, Justice Datta remarked.

Justice Surya Kant highlighted the proliferation of law colleges without adequate faculty, resulting in the admission of a large number of law graduates into the profession.

“Afterall, unless you stop the manufacturing units, the product is bound to be there in the market. Whether it's a defective product or quality product. For that the Bar Council is responsible. Isn't it a serious issue? How many law colleges are there? They don't have faculties”, Justice Kant said.

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar suggested that instead of limiting the number of colleges, a solution could be conducting a tough Bar exam with external examiners for entry to the Bar, similar to Bar exams conducted in the US.

Justice Kant also highlighted that the elimination of the requirement for two years of practice before joining the judiciary has led to fresh law graduates becoming judicial officers who often face embarrassing situations in district courts due to lack of experience.

He said that despite training, many officers are found wanting in courtroom conduct because they have not been exposed to real court proceedings. He stressed the importance of practical experience in drafting legal documents and conducting examinations in court to become proficient professionals in the higher courts.

“Unless some experience is attached to you, you cannot be an ideal presiding officer of the court, you cannot be a good professional for the high courts and the supreme court. And unless you learn drafting of a plaint, written statement, how issues are framed, how somebody is examined how cross examined. For examination-in-chief, thank god, affidavit has come. But at least art of cross examinations is completely disappearing”, Justice Kant said.

Case no. – Diary No. - 4381/2024

Case Title – A. Mohandoss v. Registrar General(renamed as "In Re: Strengthening of the Institution of Bar Associations")