Madhya Pradesh High Court Issues Notice To State Bar Council For Allegedly Keeping Enrolment Of About 6K Law Graduates Pending
Anukriti Mishra
13 Nov 2024 4:40 PM IST
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday (November 11) issued notice to the State Bar Council on a PIL alleging non-enrolment of lawyers since four months.
As per the plea filed by Rakesh Singh Bhadoria, former Joint Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association at Indore, there is an administrative backlog with approximately 6,000 law graduates awaiting enrolment.
A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf has kept the matter for hearing on November 26.
According to the petition, the last Enrolment Committee meeting was held on July 29, 2024 and since then, no subsequent meetings have been convened, halting the enrolment of aspiring advocates on the state rolls.
The petition emphasizes that the Bar Council's prolonged inaction is not merely an administrative delay but a serious barrier to the professional advancement of thousands of qualified law graduates. The petition underscores that the delay in adjudicating applications effectively deprives these candidates of their statutory right to practice law, as guaranteed under the Advocates Act, 1961.
The plea states that this inaction infringes upon their fundamental right to pursue a profession and secure livelihood, as enshrined under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution.
The petition also raised concerns about the Bar Council's commitment to procedural justice, suggesting that its prolonged inaction may conflict with fundamental principles of natural justice and procedural transparency. It contends that by failing to adhere to the statutory timelines and protocols outlined in the Advocates Act and the State Bar Council Rules, the Bar Council risks neglecting its statutory duties and diminishing the professional standards of the legal field.
The petition further highlights the broader consequences for the judicial system in Madhya Pradesh. It states that many law graduates awaiting enrolment are potential candidates for the judiciary and since the MP Judicial Services (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994 mandate a minimum of three years of legal practice before candidates can appear for the Civil Judge Examination, delay in enrolment process narrows the pool of qualified candidates.
The petitioner has thus sought a writ of mandamus directing the State Bar Council to reconvene the Enrolment Committee and expedite the resolution of the pending applications.
The plea has been filed through Advocates Ramisha Jain and Ravindranath Chaturvedi.
Case Title: Rakesh Singh Bhadoria versus State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh & Others, WP No. 34475 of 2024
