The Bar Council of India (BCI), a statutory body under the Advocates Act of 1961 mandated among other functions to represent bar and set standards on legal education including grant of recognition to universities/colleges, has asked vice-chancellors/registrars/principals to ensure that no person above the age of 20/30 years secures admission for a three/five year undergraduate law course respectively.
A BCI circular on September 19 acquired further significance as the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed petitions challenging Maharashtra’s Common Entrance Test (CET) for law.
On August 29, the apex court had issued notice asking both the Bar Council of India and the Maharashtra government to file a response.
In its circular addressed to chiefs of law universities and colleges, the Council has made out a case that Clause 28 of Schedule III of Legal Education Rules 2008 which deals with age restriction for taking admission in LL.B course, which was scrapped by the body in 2013 but restored by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in 2015, stands revived after the Supreme Court had refused to entertain in December 2015 a special leave petition by it challenging the High Court verdict.
Many petitions since 2013The subject on whether there should be a bar on the age at which a person can pursue any law course has been a matter of myriad petitions before several courts since 2013.
The dispute is over the validity of a Government of India gazette notification in March, 2009 stating that the upper age limit for admission in LL.B three year course was 30 years and for LL.B five year course was 20 years.
As per Clause 28, upper age-limit for admission in LL.B three year course was 30 years and for LL.B five year course was 20 years.
In 2013 the BCI had withdrawn Clause 28 vide resolution No. 200/2013 thereby age restriction was removed for admission in LL.B three year and five year course.
The withdrawal was challenged before the Madurai Bench of the High Court of Madras which held that withdrawal of Clause 28 by the BCI was illegal.
Subsequently, Bar Council of India challenged the decision of the High Court of Madras before the Supreme Court.
The apex court dismissed the Special Leave Appeal in November 2015.
