The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (August 19) directed action against around 1,157 advocates, who are practicing in the State without a valid Certificate of Practice (CoP) and without clearing the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. today passed an interim order directing immediate publication of the list of these advocates on the websites of the High Court as well as the Bar Council of Kerala (BCK).

"The department is directed not to register any matter in which these 1157 advocates shall file their vakalatnama and in the event it is found that any of these 1157 advocates have filed any vakalatnama, there should be a proper endorsement in the file. High Court Registrar of the District Court to make appropriate endorsements in the file for the benefit of the Bench. The Registry shall immediately communicate this list of 1157 advocates to all the district judges for information and compliance. If it is found that any of the learned advocates, in the meantime have obtained a CoP, their names shall be deleted from the list provided that authenticated copies of such CoPs are given," the Court further directed.

The Court was considering a public interest litigation filed by Amarnath Joshi Surendiran, who appeared in person. The PIL has pointed out the inaction on the part of the State Bar Council in not following the rules and the provisions of the Advocates Act in permitting advocates to practice without a Certificate of Practice.

When the matter came up today, the BCK's counsel submitted that the Council has not been constituted yet. It was also submitted that the earlier committee has not taken any stance for identifying the advocates who have not cleared the AIBE exam or obtained a COP. It gave a list of enrolled advocates from July 2010 to December 2021 who have not passed AIBE.

The Court, after noting that an adhoc committee of the BCK is functional, directed it to file an affidavit. The adhoc committee is directed to find out whether these advocates in the list have applied for CoP. It had directed that appropriate notices are to be sent to the advocates in the event it is found that they are practicing without registered CoP.

The adhoc committee to also publish the list of defaulting advocates and ensure follow-up action in terms of Rule 18 of the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015.

The case is posted after 4 weeks for further consideration.

Case No: WP(PIL) No. 147 of 2026

Case Title: Amarnath Joshi Surendiran v. Secretary, Bar Council of Kerala and Ors.

Counsel for the respondents: P. Ramakrishnan - BCK, Shinto Mathew Abraham, Veena Raveendran, Anil Sebastian Pulickel, Leah Rachel Ninan, Mathew Nevin Thomas, Karthik Rajagopal, Kurian Antony Mathew, Noel Ninan Ninan, Aparnna S., Adeen Nazar, Rohan Mathew, Santhosh Mathew (Sr.) - KeLSA