Exam for law graduates: Bar council chief resigns in protest

CHANDIGARH: Lodging a strong protest against the Bar Council of India\'s (BCI) decision to hold an examination for law graduates before they can begin practice, the chairman of State Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana tendered his resignation on Monday.



In a move that has earned it brickbats, BCI made it mandatory for law graduates to take All-India Bar Examination (AIBE) for getting their permit to practice as advocates.



Terming the decision of apex body draconian, unconstitutional and arbitrary, the state bar council also passed a resolution on Monday against the BCI decision of conducting the test.



A meeting of all state bar councils has already been called in Chandigarh on July 10 at Sector 37-based Law Bhawan to discuss the viability of AIBE and for taking a uniform decision on the issue. Sources confirmed that the BCI has taken the decision of conducting the examination without informing or taking consent of state bodies of the bar council.



After resigning from the chairman\'s post, Partap Singh said, \"BCI cannot force the state bodies to implement the rule that has been taken without consulting them.\" BCI, the apex body of the lawyers of country has recently introduced AIBE, which made it mandatory for all those law students graduating from the academic year 2009-2010 to clear AIBE to get licence.



The examination is scheduled for December and the certificate to practice is expected to be given to qualified law graduates in January. The decision had invited ire from all corners of the country, as the law graduates who passed had appearing for LLB final-year examination in April 2010 would have to wait for six to eight months before they can begin work.



Students from the region have already registered their protest against the decision by staging protests and slogans against BCI. A writ petition challenging the move was recently filed by some Chandigarh-base students. It is listed for hearing on July 30 before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
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