All-India Bar Examination (AIBE-2017) Likely To Be On Feb 26

The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Wednesday announced that the All-India Bar Examination (AIBE) was likely to be held on February 26 this year.

The registration for the examination is likely to start on Friday (January 6).

According to the Bar Council of India, the objective of the AIBE is to examine an advocate's capability to practice the profession of law in India. Those who pass the candidates will be awarded "Certificate of Practice" by the Bar Council of India.

The notification bringing the All-India Bar Examination into force was passed by the Legal Education Committee and members on April 10, 2010, and on April 30, 2010.

Validity of AIBE to be examined by Constitution Bench

In March 2016, the Supreme Court referred petitions challenging the AIBE to a Constitution Bench after it framed three questions with the help of senior lawyer KK Venugopal, who was earlier appointed amicus curiae in the contentious matter.

The bench framed the following questions:

1) Can a pre-enrollment exam be prescribed by the BCI as a condition precedent for enrollment?

2) Can the BCI can prescribe a pre-enrollment training in terms of the BCI’s training rules issued in 1995 as framed under Section 24 (3)(d) of the Advocates Act, 1961. If so, was the case of V Sudhir v. BCI correctly decided?

3) If the above questions are answered in the negative, then can a post-enrollment exam be validly prescribed?

This article has been made possible because of financial support from Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation.