BCI grants one-time enrolment relief to law grads given permission to write exams despite attendance shortage

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has ruled that law graduates who were permitted by the Supreme Court to appear for examinations despite attendance shortage as a one-time exception cannot be denied enrolment as advocates.

In a communication dated August 12, Justice Rajendra Menon, Co-Chairperson of the BCI's Legal Education Committee, said that the attendance deficiency excused for the purpose of exams cannot be revived at the enrolment stage.

"The one-time protection cannot reasonably be divided into two inconsistent stages whereby the attendance shortage is disregarded for lawful completion of the recognised professional degree but is revived immediately thereafter as the sole ground for denying consideration for entry into the profession," the order stated.

The issue arose following the Delhi High Court's judgment delivered in proceedings initiated upon the death by suicide of a law student in Amity University. The BCI subsequently directed institutions not to bar students from examinations solely for attendance shortage during the relevant period.

In May this year, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court's judgment on an appeal by the BCI. Thereafter, in July, the apex court granted one-time protection to students whose academic session was underway when the High Court verdict was passed, permitting them to sit for final or supplementary examinations despite the shortfall.

The representations that prompted the order came from Faculty of Law, Delhi University students, who said that they had lawfully completed their degrees under the Supreme Court's protection but could not secure enrolment because their universities did not issue the standard attendance certificate.

To resolve this, the BCI has permitted universities and Centres of Legal Education (CLEs) to issue an alternative certificate confirming that a candidate who falls within the protected class and passes the examination and obtains a degree is eligible for enrolment. The order specifies that historical attendance records cannot be altered or deemed regular.

The arrangement applies uniformly to all similarly placed candidates across India and is not confined to Delhi University. The BCI has clarified that the relief is strictly one-time and transitional, does not dilute the attendance requirement under Rule 12 of the Rules of Legal Education, 2008 for future sessions, and does not exempt candidates from other statutory requirements for enrolment under Sections 24 and 24A of the Advocates Act, 1961, which state bar councils remain obligated to verify.

The order is also subject to ratification by BCI's competent body.