Age limit to practice as advocate ??

There is some good news for 45 years-plus law graduates who want to practice as advocates. The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) today informed the Delhi High Court that it has withdrawn its decision to fix a maximum age-limit for enrollment as a lawyer.

Appearing before the Division Bench of Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice S L Bhayana, the Bar Council of India's lawyer Sanjeev Sachdeva said "On November two a resolution was passed (by BCD) to withdraw its December 2006 policy (on age-limit for advocates)", Sachdeva added. The Bench sought an affidavit from the BCD giving details about its meeting and the resolution passed in it on the age limit issue by the next date of hearing. The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the BCD'sresolution fixing 45 years as the maximum age limit for getting a licence for practicing in courts. According to petitioners, the Supreme Court had already set aside similar resolution of Bar Council of India and BCD's action denying licence to some applicants on the ground of being over-age was arbitrary and discriminatory in nature. Later, BCD chairman K K Manan told PTI "The regulation that no person, who have crossed the age of 45 years, would be enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi has been done away with." Experienced persons, who wished to join the Bar after relinquishing their respective occupation, would not cause any harm to the legal profession, in fact, they would enrich it, he added.