Gujarat High Court issued notices to the Bar Council of India and Bar Council of Gujarat for depriving Law Graduate the opportunity of taking AIBE Examination [READ ORDER]

The Gujarat High Court on 15th December 2020 issued notice to Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of Gujarat on a petition filed by a law graduate. 

The petition was filed by a law graduate as application for enrolment with the Bar Council of Gujarat has been kept pending for over a year, thereby depriving her from the opportunity of appearing in the All India Bar Examination.

A Single Bench of Justice S H Vora has issued notices to the Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of Gujarat, returnable on December 21, 2020.

The petition has been filed by one Shivi Ravi Agrawal, stating that Bar Council of India on 28.01.2017 passed the resolution whereas, the State Bar Council was required to enroll her provisionally, maximum within 20 days. 

As per the said resolution of Bar Council of India, verification regarding the degree of candidate has to be done by all the State Bar Councils with the concerned University within 15 days, and if there is no reply from the University within 20 days, the candidate has to be enrolled on provisionally basis.

Thus, it is claimed that the action of the Bar Council of Gujarat in keeping her application pending for a year and a half, from 29.06.2019, is absolutely illegal, and arbitrary. 

The Petitioner has further averred that initially, she was issued with an enrolment intimation letter by the Bar Council of Gujarat on 15.10.2010. 

As per intimation letter she had submitted her candidature for appearing in the upcoming AIBE. However, to her utter shock and surprise, she was intimated on 3.12.2020 that her enrolment stands cancelled, her application is still pending, and the enrolment number allotted to her actually belongs to someone else named Arjan Shivajibhai Bhatti.

The Petitioner submitted that she is being deprived of taking the AIBE exam. The plea reads,

"if the Petitioner is not permitted to appear in the ensuing AIBE, the Petitioner would have to wait for another six months for her chance to appear n the next examination. This would result into wastage of six months in the career of the Petitioner for no fault of the Petitioner."

It is pointed out that the Petitioner made her application in June 2019 and the aspirants who applied along with her are already enrolled as Advocates and some have already appeared in AIBE examination that was conducted last year.

The Petitioner also submitted that the State Bar Council has not only breached the principles of natural justice in cancelling her enrolment without giving reasonable and proper reasons but they had also contravened the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961.

It is averred that various meeting of the Council have been convened after the aforesaid events transpired but no decision as to the Petitioner's case has been taken as of yet. 

The Petitioner has therefore urged the High Court to set aside the communication dated 3.12.2020, whereby her enrolment was cancelled, and initiate appropriate proceedings against the Bar Council of Gujarat. 

Further she has sought a direction to the Bar Council of Gujarat to enroll her as an Advocate on its rolls, w.e.f. date of her entitlement as per the provisions contained in the Resolution passed by the Bar Council of India. Inter alia, she has sought permission to appear in the upcoming AIBE exam.

[READ ORDER]