Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Gopal Subramanium said that the BCI would crack down on any recently enrolled lawyers who were practising law without having passed the bar exam and that law colleges whose graduating law students did not take the bar exam could be derecognised.
In a press release Subramanium said: “Advocates who do not meet the necessary requirements to practice law in India would be prohibited from doing so and the BCI will co-ordinate with every SBC to identify such issues and take stern action against any lawyers who are flouting the norms for practice of law in India.
“This action will also extend to cover recently enrolled lawyers who are not complying with the requirement of clearing the AIBE before practising law in India.”
The statement added that law colleges or universities “should note that all registrations for the AIBE are being tracked and any law college that is registered with the BCI and whose graduating students do not undertake the AIBE will be liable to be derecognised”.
BCI bar exam convenor Gopal Sankaranarayanan said that the BCI would not seek to encroach on the disciplinary jurisdiction of the state bar councils but would “definitely” derecognise colleges where the “entire graduating batch” did not take the bar exam. This was within the BCI’s existing powers, said Sankaranarayanan. [update shortly after first publication when BCI comment received]
“The fact is that as far as we are concrnedwe are not planning to crack down on students, we are cracking down on the colleges and we are going to take steps to ensure that these students are informed,” he added.
The BCI also explained that the BCI was “currently preparing a plan to create a national database of all practising lawyers, law schools, law students and other stakeholders to put in place efficient processes to ensure that reforms carry long-term perspective”.
The database would be able “to track every single law college/law student/advocate in India, verify required data and highlight any inconsistencies or issues”. This would act as a common platform to provide tools and resources to lawyers and law students, as well as track enrolment of advocates and compliance with the all-India bar exam, said the statement.
Enforcement
One 2010 graduate told Legally India that the BCI’s statement ability to enforce the threat was limited, because disciplinary proceedings under the Advocate’s Act had to start at the state bar council level and most state bar councils were opposed to the exam.
The newly formed Maharashtra & Goa state bar council last week announced that it too was opposing the bar exam.
The graduate, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “I was in touch with people from all state bar councils and they are telling the young lawyers to go ahead and practice. Most of these kids are ignorant of the fact [of the bar exam] so they just walk into these courts every single day, walking around and practising.”
Legally India reported last week that one 2010 Nalsar Hyderabad pass-out who was also challenging the bar exam in court said that he was already practising law and it would be unfair for the bar exam to stop them. He was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
FAQ
In its press release, the BCI stated that it had so-far answered over 725 bar exam related queries via email, while also operating a telephone helpline in English and Hindi.
The BCI also clarified the definition of academic year for the purpose of falling within the bar exam net: “Academic Year shall mean the period of the year during which students attend a law school, commencing with the first classes or lectures for a particular year of the 3-year or 5-year Ll.B. programme (as applicable), and culminating with the last of such classes or lectures and applicable year or term end examinations.
“Law students graduating in the Academic Year 2009-2010, therefore, would mean those students who have completed their final year of study (third year in the case of 3-year Ll.B. programmes, and fifth year in the case of 5-year Ll.B. programmes) in the calendar year 2010, and, being eligible to appear for their final year examinations, have successfully passed such examinations.”
Click here to read the full BCI press release.
For queries on the bar exam please call the helplines on 011 4922 5022 (English) or 011 4922 5023 (Hindi) or email . Photo by comedynose
Comments
What does this suppose to mean? Can someone here help me understand this part of press release? I used to think till now that it is only for the purpose of practice one needs to clear AIBE, but this part of press release suggest that AIBE is compulsory for every student who passes out with LLB degree, even if he/she decides not to take up legal practice! And how can colleges make sure that every passing student appear for this bar exam and even if there was mechanism to enforce this, how can college force students to take up bar exam?
The first requirement in any company to join as an employee is to withdraw their bar membership. Even if students do practice without the exam why should the college and its students be punished. This exam has been proposed by BCI and not the law colleges so why doesnt BCI ensure students take it, if they cannot they should simply close itself down for incompetency or does it plan to outsource that also to private parties. Mr. Subramnium needs to go back to the Constitutional basics (maybe give the exam himself)and think again about punishing the college for the acts of single or few protesting or wayward students.
I wonder next BCI is going to say that colleges will be derecognised if advocates from their respective law colleges work in a particular law firm or take up training contract from a particular country or defend a certain accused. If this is the road he has chosen to be remembered as the person who brought changes to the legal system well he is on a wrong track. I hope student unions in law colleges dnt get a whiff of this. Mr. Subramanium please re-think and re strategise the way you plan to change the legal profession. Show the kids and the colleges a dream and not the dungeon or threats of punishments and derecognistion.
We should all go to press & media and stop the foul play and the moneylenders behind it.
There is no legal reform in open book bar exams.
All this needs to be discussed seriously.
Comments???
For queries on the bar exam please call the helplines on 011 4922 5022 (English) or 011 4922 5023 (Hindi) or email
Best regards
Kian
These guys are playing with the future of hundreds of young lawyers. They have no experience of public administration and how can they be trusted to run a nationwide exam which will grant a licence to livelihood for hundreds. With their latest misadventure of "de-rocgnition" even the legal expertise of these nincompoops is doubtful to say the least.
I hope that between the law ministry / HRD ministry and the UGC a proper policy is be formulated for the AIBE after public consultations. This haphazard last minute approach puts our country to shame...whether it is the AIBE or it is the commonwealth games, it is the same story.
BCI's remit as well as structure is not suited for modern India. It should be abolished by a new law and a proper independent regulator established.
NEED OF THE HOUR: Total Boycott of "Bar Eggjam" this December.
Dear would be lawyers, Do you have it in you?
When you joined practice did you think of improving professional standards? Were you fit to be complete lawyer without Bar Examination? Were you from legal family to think that new graduate knows what he wants to be? YOU ARE ROADROLLING THE ENTIRE NEW GENERATION FOR YOUR FANCY INTERNATIONAL IDEA OF INTERNATIONAL/FORIEGN LAW FIRMS.
Mr GS did you ever draw ur attention towards the poor people who wants to join this profession?
@31: you are really dumb for criticising the entry of foreign law firms. It will benefit young lawyers the most.
& more importantly..why is a private firm, with questionable competency level & experience being awarded with the contract of a bar exam of such a high scale??are the members of the organization practicing laweyers?have they ever moved a matter in court before to say the least, forget conducting a trial??was there any basis of ascertaining the standard of this private body who has been happily roped in by the BCI?& does the BCI really want the poor of this country to practice law(remember after paying a hefty enrollment fee, these chaps need to shell out a further amount of 1300 & they comprise 50% of our population)..or do they want the mantles of the profession to remain in the hands of the high & mighty??
well with all these unanswered questions I do sometimes smell a rat..
A REAL HARD JOKE TO DIGEST
Ladies & gentlemen - unity in diversity?
http://www.legallyindia.com/201008201220/Newsletters/itemised-weekend-issue-62
BCI is not doing enough to crack down lawyers who is registerd with SBC's but working as full time in companies or other organisation , public sector or otherwise as full time employee. I request BCI with co-ordinations of SBC t o do something is this field too, as these permanent employess is harming reputation of profession more than anyone else, as they act asadvocate in public/police/othwerwise to gain something personlly as people are normally afraid of lawyers, this is giving bad name to all sincere advocate appearing to court regular basis....there are many other instancess of misuse of ....but it will take long ....
ak
I challenged the impugned amendment to Bar Council of India rules in Supreme Court of India, and it was dismissed but without a speaking order. I respect My Lord’s wisdom and happy to see that Writ Petition of my brave brothers filed in various High Courts still forms part of the Transfer Petition pending before their Lordships in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
I genuinely apprehend victimization of all those, including me, who are standing for our common cause and oppose the cynical implementation of All India Bar Examination. We, the litigants in various petition, or otherwise openly opposing the Bar Examination, may never be allowed to clear the exam. Since our answer sheets shall either be with BCI or with the very agency hired by BCI for instant purpose, our daring attempt may cost us dearly.
I need suggestion from my fellow brethrens as to how to cope with this situation?
I have an idea:
1.The Bar Council of India must give us a Carbon Copy of our answer sheet, so that we would be sure about our answers. (otherwise they are giving only question paper and answer sheet of selected few may be tampered) [in various medical/engineering objective type entrance examinations, carbon copy of answer sheet is provided]
2.The Bar council of India must declare correct answers to the questions on its website within a week of conducting Bar Exam. [This is even being done by state agencies, like Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission]
I am giving my email for feedback on above said issue:
I wish luck to coming batches of advocates, that they may not fall in the trap of the time trauma of Bar Examination after clearing their L.L.B. degree exam. I further hope that Hon’ble Apex Court will pronounce its decision soon in the matter and shed the clouds.
Even further if we put apart the issue of legality of the examination, no genuine Indian can ever subscribe the BCI’s point of conducting exam only in 9 Languages, even our constitution recognizes 22 languages and this is a very emotional issue. How ironical it looks that an advocate of 2010 batch, planning to practise in a district court of Assam, where working language is Assamese is forced to take up this exam in a language other than Assamese, the same is true with those advocates whose would be practising language is other than Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, and English i.e. the languages of Bar Examination.
Even further no affirmative measures available to advocates of deprived sections of our society, after all this instant examination is not a University examination but equal to some examination, clearing of which, entitles the very advocate of his lively hood.
Should we send a ‘get well soon’ message to Chairperson, Bar Council of India?
This exam is like common wealth game now, people have established indirect channels to earn money moreover foreign concepts which gopal wants to force in India is not possible here.
Now Law minister, Gopal, Hon'ble Judges none is with us Except GOD. Lets see if God really helps us or not.
Can any one pls tell are u my brothers and sisters filing vakalatnama in the courts?? Because i know many passouts of this year who are filing including me.
YOur scincerly
(Aggrieved YOung Lawyer)
bci is required to amend the law in order to bring the change in the right to legal practice, but any such amendment will be hit by art.14, 19 and certainly 21.
bci must know what it is doing and where it is heading, the area to be worked to get quality students is certainly not making them to write exam wither it is open or closed book, but the gray area is elsewhere, bci has to be very strict in granting permission and also needs to have certain restrictions or guiding principles in getting quality outcome of students who write law exams.
hope our legal minds truly apply their minds and accentuates the reality and throw the said notification into .....
let us not forget legalism...and lawlesslaws
,
I hope that the exam that is planned is really "tough", like the one for CAs, so that all the pseudo-lawyers in the making are weeded out. The lay public - the people who will be availing legal service - will thank the BCI for this.
How many countries in the world allow lawyers to practise simply by completing a law course and have no qualifying exam or strict trainee/ intership requirements.
Maybe the horde of pseuds shouting so hoarsely could let readers know.
How can they be rule makers and policy framers when they even lack the common sense. Obviously how can law schools will ensure what their students will do after passing and by this they are making the exam compulsory even if u don't opt for litigation. Firstly, the whole examination methodology is flawed and is of no use other than sucking the blood of the students and enriching a few chosen ones. Instead of barking that those who pass LL.B. exam are not competent they should see why this is so. Frequent diagnosis is not the treatment. We know where legal education is lacking and instead of looking upon it they are adding the problems of the students which will be of no use. Everybody will pass this exam as it is an open book exam with questions from the limited material provided. Don't know why we as law students are just sitting idle. Firstly we should fight for our own rights then it can be said that we have understood law in its true sense. Every now and then they come out with rules they dream in the night. Atleast some reasonableness should be there and should be within the powers provided. so some hint is also here. Come on future lawyers.