Supreme Court Allows All Final Year Law Students To Appear In All India Bar Exam 2024

The Supreme Court has allowed final-year law students to appear in the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) which is scheduled to take place on November 24.

The Court passed this interim order while hearing a petition challenging the decision to the Bar Council of India to exclude final year law students from registering for AIBE. The petitioners submitted that the BCI's decision was contrary to the Constitution Bench judgment in Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College & Ors as per which final year law students should be allowed to appear in the AIBE.

During the hearing today before the bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwal and Manoj Misra, the Bar Council of India submitted that they required time to frame rules regarding final year law students. The bench said that they can take time to frame rules, but should ensure that final year law students do not lose a year.

Accordingly, the bench passed an interim direction. The bench clarified that the order will apply to all final-year law students and not just to the petitioners.

"We direct that the BCI shall permit the registration of all students who fall within the ambit of Paragraph 38 of the Bonnie Foi Decision. The above direction to operate in rem for AIBE scheduled for November 24," the bench observed in the order.

In paragraph 38 of the Bonnie Foi Law College decision, the Constitution Bench observed :

"We are inclined to accept the suggestion from the learned Amicus that students who have cleared all examinations to be eligible to pursue the final semester of the final year course of law, on production of proof of the same, could be allowed to take the All India Bar Examination. 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"

The Court today noted that though this judgment was delivered in February 2023, the BCI is yet to frame rules.

Advocates A.Velan and Navpreet Kaur appeared for the petitioners.

Case Details: Nilay Rai & Ors V Bar Council of India| W.P.(C)No 577 of 2024

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 734

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