There was a brief but heavy 4am pre-Monsoon shower in Mumbai on Tuesday morning but the real storm was faced by the Bar Council of India (BCI) this week.

Almost exactly one year ago Legally India’s first newsletter issue, Exciting Times, made its way out of and across India. Fifty issues later, much has changed but legally the Indian market remains as exciting as ever.

Does India’s legal future belong to its youth?

Indian legal education finds itself at a pivotal time, with repercussions beyond just the student community. Yesterday, a number of NUJS Kolkata final year students led by professor Shamnad Basheer petitioned the Bar Council of India (BCI) to postpone the new bar exam until 2011, instead of holding it in August as originally envisaged.

Today, in a surprise U-turn, the BCI has agreed to push back the exam to December 2010.

An inconclusive week, not dissimilar to the UK’s hung parliament of today.

Not quite a hung election in the fight in important legal elections. While counting is for the Mumbai Bar Councli is expected to conclude later tonight, while literally just in, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has officially elected Ram Jethmalani as its new president.

Meanwhile, India’s eyes - even those of non-lawyers - were firmly fixed on two of the most important court decisions of this year.

It’s official at the Supreme Court: India’s next Chief Justice will be S H Kapadia and the apex court will welcome its first female judge in four years. About time.

Few things showcase the globalisation of India’s legal industry more than this week’s volcano eruption in Iceland, which kept at least three Indian managing partners best known by their first names out of India and stuck in New York.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has a new chairman.

Unusually, this time the BCI did not select someone from amongst their elected midst but opted for ex-officio BCI member and solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam. The SG has ambitious plans such as the introduction of an Indian bar exam.

But for foreign firms hoping for a change in breeze with a new administration, the forecast remains uncomfortable. Much like Delhi and Mumbai’s heat at the moment.

Convention has it that the start of the financial year is an exciting time for senior associates.

With no good reason to break with convention, Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co and Luthra & Luthra gave the nod to three lawyers each to join the partnerships.

Only little Foolishness at the start of this financial year.

Khaitan & Co hired a total of three specialist lateral partners: banking & finance from White & Case, infrastructure from JSA and absorbing a TMT boutique. The firm has also promoted three of its associates to partnership (see LegallyIndia.com on Monday for the full story).

It’s just not cricket, folks. Or is it? With the Indian Premier League (IPL) in full swing lawyers have been busy getting in on the action (and that does not just mean enjoying live cricket games with clients).

Luthra & Luthra and Titus & Co chalked up tournament batting and fielding records in the Delhi SILF law firm mini-IPL. (Hotly debated at 50 comments and counting - a century beckons again with finals this weekend!)

As the end of the accounting year draws near, money begins to increasingly matter.

Amarchand Mangaldas is already sure of a record turnover year and has paid fee-earners solid bonuses. But it is not the only one.

This week’s newspaper headlines were dominated by the passage of the 14 year-old Women’s Reservation Bill, which finally cleared its first hurdle shortly after International Women’s Day.

Students may complain about the fees of some private law schools but in reality even national law schools are not the most socially representative places either.

The Common Law Admissions Test (CLAT) rewards cramming and paid preparation courses with a place in India’s legal ivy leagues. Those from less well-off backgrounds or rural areas often struggle to clear that hurdle.

This was an exciting week not just for India’s business media but also for tax lawyers, who will no doubt spend the long and colourful Holi weekend getting to grips with the changes in the 2010-11 Budget.

Lawyers and corporates have generally welcomed the Budget’s safe smorgasbord of changes, which could increase lawyers’ work, despite heavy lobbying efforts having given no respite to law firms on service tax. But it is also very unlikely there will be a repeat of last year when litigators went on strike over the service tax imposed on their law firm brothers and sisters.

Ashurst has decided to shut its Delhi liaison office, which in all honesty will not be a shock to anyone who’s read the Lawyers Collective judgment.

To find out what this means for Ashurst’s India practice (if anything) read our interview with the firm’s India head Richard Gubbins. We have asked him lots of questions but we have not been able to confirm what will happen to Ashurst’s shiny India ball.

In an age-old tradition, Amarchand Mangaldas co-managing partner Shardul Shroff has sent all Delhi office female associates boxes of chocolates this week.

This week J Sagar Associates (JSA) partner Nishith Dhruva left the firm to set up his own practice. And on good terms too, throwing a party last Friday where most of the firm and partners put on their dancing shoes.

Now that is what is called “amicable”.

The Republic of India celebrated its 60th birthday this short working week.

In Mumbai at least, deserted streets on Tuesday and a pensive time to look back. Also a good week to count chickens, amongst other things.

In Maharashtra and Goa vote counting started for the Bar Council elections - rural turnout in Pune was a staggering 79 per cent, in the city less than 50 per cent. It’ll be an interesting fight.

Record-breaking deals were inked this week to much merriment from law firms.

Wadia Ghandy will have been cheering for its client, which won the race in what is apparently the largest cash asset acquisition in Indian corporate history: Wadia’s client GTL is buying network operator Aircel’s tower business for almost $2bn. Amarchand Mangaldas is the happy advisor to Aircel but the suitor mandate could have gone to any of a number of firms, with a who’s who of telecoms majors competing for the same assets. Not bad for early January.

(A second, unrelated reason to cheer at Wadia Ghandy: the firm won the ELP Cricket Masters Cup last weekend, persevering over tournament organiser and defending champions Economic Laws Practice in a dramatic final.)