The Delhi High Court has rejected the third bail application of Bar Council of India (BCI) member Rajinder Singh Rana, who with two other lawyers is accused of taking a bribe to accredit a law college.

The court held that bar council members were “public servants” and the Prevention of Corruption Act would apply, also agreeing with the CBI’s argument that Rana’s influential status would hamper investigations if released on bail.

Read on for the full allegations, evidence and chronology of events, according to court documents.

Law minister Veerappa Moily said the government had finished a Bill to set up a new National Commission for Higher Legal Education and Research, which would replace the BCI as the regulatory body responsible for legal education, recognition of law colleges and a unified law school curriculum.

Following the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) detaining Bar Council of India (BCI) member Rajinder Singh Rana and another lawyer for allegedly taking a bribe to accredit a law college, Delhi lawyers have gone on strike against and allegedly intimidated the CBI while the BCI has suspended college inspections for three months.

The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has detained Bar Council of India (BCI) elected member Rajendra Singh Rana allegedly for taking bribes to accredit a Ghaziabad-based law college, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Exclusive: The Supreme Court today allowed the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) transfer petition clubbing together six high court writ petitions challenging the all India bar examination (AIBE) but declined to hear the exam’s constitutional validity just now citing its postponement to March next year.

Madras advocates have called for abstinence from court work today (10 December) to protest against the Legal Practitioner Bill 2010 citing the Advocate Act’s efficacy to deal with issues of client protection and regulation of the legal professions.

This week the Delhi bar council settled what sounded like quite a violent fist and pistol fight between two elected members, allegedly.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has published the pro-forma undertaking that 2010 graduates will need sign before practising, agreeing to take and pass the bar exam in future.

The law ministry may ask solicitor general and BCI chairman Gopal Subramanium to resign, to forestall a conflict of interest between the solicitor general and the ministry’s plans for legal education reform, reported the Indian Express.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has circulated a resolution to state bar councils to make 2010 graduates give an undertaking to pass the bar exam before practising law.

The Bar Council of India’s website has officially confirmed that the bar exam has been postponed to 6 March 2011, although only shortly afterwards the website went offline after the domain name barcouncilofindia.org was not renewed.

After a long slumber, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fired its first warning shot across the bow of corporate India this week, allegedly slapping Kingfisher Airlines with a maximum fine of Rs 1 crore for not having played along with investigations.

The proposed Legal Services Board has elicited mixed reactions from legal practitioners on CNBC-TV18’s The Firm last week, with Rajiv Luthra noting that state bar councils do need tighter regulation in some manner, Lalit Bhasin and Karan Bhosale arguing that the existing regulators can already do the job and MP Bharucha predicting that it could facilitate the entry of foreign law firms.

Latest update: All 2010 law graduates may be able to practise law subject to giving an undertaking they would clear the all-India bar exam within two years, according to a bar council source.

In an unexpected turn the all India bar examination (AIBE) transfer petition may now be scheduled for hearing by a division bench on or after 29 November according to one authoritative source, with completion of the summoning process making way for adjudication on merits.

An email from the BCI has confirmed that the bar exam date has been “pushed” and that the body would make a formal statement on 25 November.

{pollxtbot id=10}

Read our exclusive feature story evaluating those options and revealing more background, information and possible outcomes.

State bar councils are planning to hold regional bar exams for each state, as the holding of the all India bar exam has turned into a political circus between the Bar Council of India (BCI), its chairman and the state bar councils. Meanwhile, the BCI will meet in Chennai this weekend (20 November), probably without BCI chairman Gopal Subramanium.

Exclusive: Bar Council of India (BCI) members passed a resolution in the absence of chairman Gopal Subramanium today to postpone the bar exam by three months until 6th March 2011, as the BCI is also understood to have discussed future involvement by Rainmaker.

The Aurangabad student respondents’ counsel in the bar exam Supreme Court transfer petition decided against a second mentioning of an interim stay application after having been declined once before by the Chief’s court, as the Chamber judge is likely to take up the matter for non-prosecution after three months in line with standard procedural practices in the apex court.