Supreme Court adjourns Bar Exam petition yet again

The Supreme Court writ petitions in the bar exam has been postponed again, this time to 25 October, following no notices having been served on respondents.

Delhi High Court Registrar S G Shah heard the Bar Council of India (BCI)’s advocate Sanjeev Sachdeva, as well as petitioner and Nalsar graduate Fatehpal Singh and senior advocate Dushyant Dave’s junior Anirudh Rajput, who appeared on behalf of the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council opposing the bar exam.

Fatehpal Singh said that Shah decided that all notices should be served by 25 October when there would be another hearing.

Singh said: “I explained how I’ll lose a remedy if the exam and matter is not heard before 30th [October].”

The deadline for bar exam applications had already been postponed to the end of this month, with the exam set to take place on 5 December.

Singh also explained that the registrar should not expect many respondents to actually show up in court once served notice, as a large number had only recently graduated and had limited financial means to argue the matter in the Supreme Court.

No other petitioners were present in court today.

The previous hearing on 6 September had been adjourned to today, also following delays to notices having been served on the petitioners.

All India Bar Exam- A Critique

The Bar Council of India (BCI) will hold the first All-India Bar Examination (AIBE) for fresh LLB graduates to get their certificate of practice (sanad) in December 2010, despite criticism from bar associations and the students. The first All India Bar Examination shall be mandatory for all law students graduating from the academic year 2009-2010 onwards. Candidates may apply to appear for the All India Bar Examination only after enrolling as an advocate under Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961

Its for the first time a bar exam is going to be conducted in India. I feel that most of the state bar councils are still not accustomed to conducting exams. The bar council may tie up with law colleges, universities like NALSAR, NLSUI, NUJS, etc. to conduct exams in respective states rather than joining hands with Rainmaker, a private firm for the conduct of the exam. This itself is highly questionable as they have not revealed the reasons for selection of rainmaker for the conduct of the exam.

Further Supreme court judgment in this regard (Sudeer's case) will be an impediment in introducing an exam without amendments to the advocates Act. The Advocates Act says that one has a right to practice as an advocate once one gets the law degree. In most law schools students have been recruited by law firms and there is problem for them joining these firms and some firms have taken a step back after the announcement of the bar exam. It is in a very short notice the BCI is conducting this.

The bar council says, All India Bar Examination, is intended to test an advocate’s ability to practice the profession of law in India. Are they admitting a failure of the present legal education system in India?. I strongly feel, by all means, it is best that the BCI plans the syllabus after consultation with various quarters so that the exam syllabus and exam pattern will very well test the competence of young lawyers. I also need to tell that many of the advocates already in practice do not know the basics of law. And such advocates are causing problem to clients, especially rural people. It would be better if the BCI considers conducting exams for all the existing advocates too and ask them to pass the exams within next few years.