LLB Admission Age Limit Scrapped: BCI Tells Supreme Court
Law aspirants of any age can now apply for 3-year and 5-year LLB courses after the BCI dropped a cap that had been restored in 2016.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The Bar Council of India told the Supreme Court on Friday, 6 November, that it has withdrawn the upper age limit for admission to three-year and five-year LLB courses, and a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant closed the long-running challenge as infructuous. BCI counsel Radhika Gautam placed the General Council’s decision before the bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, which was hearing Rishabh Duggal’s petition against the cap, according to LiveLaw and Indian Opinion.
No Upper Age Bar for Law Aspirants
With the cap gone, applicants of any age can seek a seat in a law programme, subject to the usual entrance and eligibility conditions. The rule at the centre of the case, Clause 28 in Schedule III of Rule 11 of the Rules of Legal Education, 2008, had set a maximum admission age of 20 for the integrated bachelor of law course. The petitioner argued that it violated Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.
A Rule Withdrawn in 2013, Restored in 2016
The BCI withdrew the clause in 2013, and a 2016 circular brought it back, which is what Duggal challenged. The BCI said its General Council acted on a reasoned order by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, co-chairman of its Legal Education Committee, and a Standing Committee resolution. The council recorded that an absolute maximum age restriction lacked sufficient academic justification. High Courts have differed on the clause: the Punjab and Haryana and Bombay High Courts held it ultra vires the Advocates Act, while the Madras High Court upheld it. The Supreme Court had asked the BCI in August to take instructions on withdrawing the circular. More Supreme Court reports are on the site.
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Petitioner Wants the Decision Recorded as Final
Advocate Zoheb Hossain, for the petitioner, asked the court to note that the BCI’s decision was conscious and final, citing the council’s past pattern of withdrawing and then restoring age caps, Indian Opinion reported. The BCI has not said when law colleges will receive a formal notification of the change.
Source: Based on reporting by LiveLaw, Indian Opinion and Verdictum.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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