![Supreme Court Sets Aside Orissa High Court's Order for Enrollment of Candidate as Advocate [Read Judgment]](/secure/uploads/2023/06/lj_8758_e180e09a-c3c9-4015-b73b-f6b2765b189f.jpg)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed an appeal by the Bar Council of India against the Orissa High Court's judgement which directed to enrol a candidate as an advocate even though he secured a law degree from a college not recognised or approved by the regulator.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Kumar set aside the High Court's division bench order of September 21, 2012, saying "The rule framed by BCI requiring a candidate for enrolment as an advocate to have completed his law course from a college recognised/ approved by BCI cannot be said to be invalid, as was held in the impugned order".
The top court went by the Constitution bench's judgement of February 10, 2023 which held that the Advocate Act of 1961 vested BCI with the power to prescribe the norms for entitlement to be enrolled as an advocate.
It also said the High Court went by the Supreme Court's judgement in V Sudeer vs Bar Council of India and another (1999), which was declared as "erroneous" and "not a good law" by the Constitution bench.
Taking consideration of V Sudeer judgement, the High Court had said once a candidate fulfilled the conditions stipulated in Section 24(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 and did not suffer from any disqualification under Section 24A, he would be entitled to enrolment as an advocate.
The division bench also held that BCI could not frame rules and add any condition for enrolment in addition to what was prescribed under Section 24 of the Act of 1961.
In the instant case, the court pointed out the candidate had secured his law degree from Vivekananda Law College, Angul, in the year 2009. The college was not recognised or approved by BCI.
