All India Bar Exam to be held twice a year; last semester law students can appear, BCI tells SC

New Delhi: The Bar Council of India on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it has framed rules enabling final year law students to take the All India Bar Exam (AIBE) and the test will be conducted twice a year. The AIBE is a qualifying test for enrolling law graduates as lawyers.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which was hearing a writ petition filed in 2024 seeking directions to allow final semester students to appear in the AIBE, recorded the submission and disposed of the plea.

"The AIBE will be conducted twice a year and the last semester students of LLB will be allowed to sit for the exam subject to their clearing of the final exam," the counsel for the Bar Council of India (BCI) submitted. The counsel said that it has framed the BCI Rules 2026 to this effect.

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In 2024, the court passed interim orders allowing final year students to appear in the AIBE held that year. In 2023, the apex court had directed the BCI to frame rules to this effect. On September 20, 2024, in a major relief for final year students, the top court directed the BCI to allow them to appear this year for the AIBE.

Observing that the final year LLB students cannot be "left in the lurch", the top court had said their one year will be wasted if they are not permitted to take the bar exam that year. The top court had on February 10, 2023 affirmed the BCI's power to hold the AIBE. It had also accepted the suggestion of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) for allowing final semester law students to take the AIBE on production of appropriate proof of eligibility.

The apex court had taken note of the submissions of advocates A Velan and Navpreet Kaur, appearing for nine LLB students, including Nilay Rai of Delhi University, and allowed them to take the examination on November 24, 2024.

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The plea had challenged the BCI notification restraining final year LLB students from taking up the AIBE. A law graduate is required to clear the AIBE for enrolment as a lawyer with a state bar council. The plea said the notification will lead to loss of valuable time in pursuing professional careers if final year students are barred from taking the test.