Jahanvi Agarwal
Recently, the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa decided that its office must respect the rules established by the Supreme Court in August 2022 and provide a two-year provisional enrollment certificate to a law graduate who is already employed somewhere else.
The State Bar Council resolved in July that the certificate would have a two-year stamp of validity and that its office would also issue a letter stating that upon passing the AIBE examination, the person would agree to take a decision within six months to either resign, enter the profession, or continue in the same position. If the Bar Council is not informed, the sanad (enrolment certificate) will be suspended, as ordered by the SC.
Advocates Anuj Gupta and Amit Gupta from Navi Mumbai had complained about “exorbitant charges levied while issuing sanads bering arbitrary validity periods” and on September 13 2023 the State Bar Council Secretary Pravin Ranpise had conveyed its resolution of July 8 2023. They said that each of them had been charged Rs. 15000 for a six-month temporary enrolment in the Bar, which they paid in December.
Following the Supreme Court’s judgment to allow candidates to enlist while holding down a job, the State Bar Council last December, 2022, decided to provide provisional enrolment certificates to candidates who already held down other occupations and offered the applicant six months to pass the bar test.
The duo argued that the SC’s judgment merely gave them six months from the day they passed the All-India Bar Exam (AIBE) to provide an undertaking about whether or not they would quit their current positions.
Gupta submitted an application for information to the Bar Council of India (BCI) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and on March 29 2023, the BCI replied by stating that the candidates with other jobs must pass the AIBE within two years and are eligible to take the exam as many times as they like.
The pair further claimed it was wrong in their situation to reduce the validity period to six months.
However, Advocate Anuj Gupta stated the Maharashtra State Bar Council order which was issued this month clears the way for them and hundreds of other people who are employed, as they can now receive a provisional sanad for two years so they can pass the AIBE, after which they will have six months to decide whether to join the bar and practice law or continue in their current position.
Advocate Uday Warunjikar, Vice Chairperson of the State Bar Council stated that:
“We are happy with the SC order and will abide by it. The two year buffer will enable professionals or those already employed elsewhere to decide if they want to practice or continue in their existing jobs.”