Can Permit Law Graduates In Other Jobs To Provisionally Enrol As Advocates On Undertaking To Resign In 6 Months After Clearing AIBE: BCI Tells SC

A resolution to this effect was passed by the statutory body in light of the Supreme Court accepting the suggestion that persons engaged in other employments can be permitted to provisionally enrol as Advocates.

The suggestion was put forth by Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate KV Vishwanathan in BCI's appeal against a judgment of the Gujarat High Court, which allowed persons with other employments, whether full time or part-time, to enrol as Advocates without resigning from their jobs.

In its counter-affidavit, the BCI said that every State Bar Council shall have three registers for AIBE:

Register A shall contain names of candidates who pass AIBE and are issued the Certificate of Practice and continue to be in the legal profession itself.

Register B will contain names of candidates who are in service or job somewhere and have been allowed to appear in AIBE with an undertaking to give-up their jobs within a period of 6 months from their AIBE result.

Significantly, the seniority of such candidates shall be counted from the date of giving up their employment and they shall be issued Certificate of Practice (COP) of AIBE only after they furnish the undertaking that they have left the employment.

Register C shall include the names of persons who get themselves enrolled with some State Bar Council, clear the AIBE and get their license suspended in order to take up some job/employment.

It is also pertinent to note that law graduates who remains in employment for 5 years or more, having no connection/relationship with legal or judicial matters, and seek to re-join the legal profession, will be required to clear AIBE again.

The resolution will be placed before the Supreme Court in a "sealed cover".