Legal Profession Will Become Outdated If You Don’t Reconsider Existing Structure Of LLB Courses: Delhi High Court To Bar Council Of India

Delhi High Court on Wednesday told the Bar Council of India (BCI) to consider combining other subjects with the law courses to increase diversity of knowledge in the legal field.

“You could consider giving combination courses like biology with law, physics or chemistry with law. Those courses are not there in India. How will you have people who will be well qualified to deal with challenging issues which courts are facing now?” Justice Prathiba M Singh told Advocate Preet Pal Singh, who was appearing for BCI.

Asking the BCI to revisit its present structure of offering 3 years and 5 years of LLB programmes and offer more combination courses, the court said that it is important to have law courses with other subjects included so that people with more diverse backgrounds can be legal professionals.

She added: “You sit in the IP division. You need a lawyer who's an engineer. You need a lawyer who's a physicist. You need a lawyer who's an economist. How will you create these professionals, if you keep that very standard or five year course or three year course in play?”

The court told Singh that BCI should reconsider the said aspect, adding that the legal profession will otherwise become outdated.

“You need people who are chartered accountants … to [become] lawyers. You need people [with] physics honours, chemistry honours, biotech honours, to be lawyers. So all those people who may be having MSC degrees or BSC degrees, you can’t say you cannot work anywhere and you will pursue law full time,” the court told Singh.

The court was hearing a plea moved by a law graduate, who studied from University of Delhi from 2014-17 but started working with the Delhi Jal Board as a Senior Assistant from October 2016, before completion of his graduation.

The petitioner sought permission from appearing in the All India Bar Examination, 2023, scheduled to be held on February 5, 2023. The last date for filing the application form is January 16.

The law graduate had filed all the applications and documents with the Bar Council of Delhi. However, the provisional enrollment number was not issued to him due to which he was unable to get his application form for appearing in the AIBE examination.

The petitioner’s counsel relied upon a decision of the Gujarat High Court in Twinkle Rahul Mangaonkar v. Union Of India wherein persons who were in employment were permitted to take the bar exam. The High Court had given them a period of six months after the clearing of the exam to decide as to whether they wished to continue with the employment or start practice.

The counsel also referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in which various directions were issued in the appeal preferred in Twinkle Rahul Mangaonkar case.

The counsel submitted that as per the directions given by the Supreme Court, the petitioner could not have been stopped from appearing in the AIBE exam or even obtaining provisional registration as the question whether he was to start practice or to continue to remain in employment could be decided by him after qualifying the bar examination.

Perusing the directions given by the Gujarat High Court as also the Supreme Court, the court said that it is clear that a person who is in employment and has passed the LLB examination cannot be stopped from taking the All India Bar examination merely on the grounds of employment.

“The legal profession has evolved to such an extent that there are several avenues of employment for lawyers. Thus, judicial notice can also be taken of the fact that the AIBE examination has not been held for more than two years now. It cannot be expected that persons who have qualified the LLB examination ought to mandatorily practice,” the court said.

Justice Singh added that the persons who have qualified the LLB examination ought to be given the flexibility which has been clearly recognized by the Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court.

It said the petitioner, having qualified his LLB examination, though in employment, could not have been rejected from obtaining a provisional enrolment.

The court noted that even as per the Bar Council of India Act and Rules, if a person takes employment even after enrolment, such a person has the option of keeping the enrollment under suspension.

“The BCI ought to encourage lawyers who qualified the LLB examination, to be able to appear in the bar examination and have the flexibility to either practice or to keep their enrollment under suspension,” the court said.

Accordingly, while permitting the petitioner to appear in the examination, the court directed him to appear before the Bar Council of Delhi’s enrolment committee tomorrow.

The court added that after verifying all the documents submitted by the petitioner, provisional enrollment shall be granted to him by January 13.

“The petitioner shall, over the weekend and by 16 January, file the application and submit the requisite fee for appearing in the examination to be held on 5 February, 2023,” the court said.

Title: Sandeep v. UOI & Ors.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 26