While an RTI activist has filed the PIL, six students of Gujarat University have filed a separate petitions challenging the notification of BCI to connduct exams for enrolment of Law graduates as an advocate.
A division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi asked the advocates of the respondents whether there could be differentiation among lawyers or whether there could be different types of lawyers.
"Can there be two types of advocates?" the chief justice asked.
"...Does it mean that the examination is compulsory for enrolment?" he asked.
The respondents' advocates argued that the new rule of conducting the examination would apply to students who graduate in 2009-10 and later.
Recently, the Bar Council of Gujarat did not enroll law graduates for legal practice citing the new guidelines issued by the apex bar council.
Petitioner Ursh*t Bhusan Oza and others have challenged the provisions of Rules 9, 10 and 11 of the Advocates Act, 1961.
The rules require that candidates applying for a licence to practice law must be law graduates. The new BCI resolution states that the law graduates must appear in an eligibility test to get a license to practice.
Advocate for the petitioners, Amit Panchal, submitted before the court that they had obtained their law degree in 2008-09 and completed their specialization in 2009-10.
They stated that the new resolution can only be applicable to them if the BCI does not consider their degree of 2008-09.
They further submitted that their masters degree in law was completed in 2009-10 and if the BCI considered 2009-10 as the cut-off year, then they should be granted a licence to practice which would be subject to the result of eligibility test.
However, the division bench said as a similar matter is pending before the Supreme Court and is likely to be taken up on July 30, it would not take up the matter before the apex court's directions in the case and posted the matter for August 9.
