The Supreme Court on Friday ended the age barrier for entry into law courses by staying a notification issued by the Bar Council of India (BCI) setting a cap of 22 years and 45 years for admission into five-year and three-year llB courses respectively.
A Bench comprising Justices SA Bobde and l Nageswara Rao stayed the BCI notification of September 17, 2016 on a petition filed by a law aspirant Rishabh Duggal. There were several persons who stood disqualified on account of this age bar and questioned the need for introducing it at a time when no such restriction existed for past 50 to 60 years in the country.
The bench asked BCI, “On one hand, you (BCI) promote legal education, on the other hand your legal Education Committee prescribes age limit. Tell us, if somebody is 23 or 24 years, can he not applyIJ” Advocate Ardhendumauli Prasad, appearing for BCI, explained that the stipulation was fixed by the committee based on an expert panel report headed by Justice Al Narasimha Rao.
The age cap was prescribed as a tentative measure for this academic year only even as BCI agreed to hold talks with all stakeholders.
The bench was convinced that such a cap should go and went on to stay the notification and all consequential acts taken in pursuance of the notification. When Prasad requested for an order to subject all admissions to the final outcome in this case, the bench indicated that it was inclined to say otherwise that the pendency of these cases (before apex court) will not affect admissions made this year.
The age limit for the entrance exam was fixed in line with Clause 28 of Schedule III, Rule 11 of the Rules of legal Education, 2008 which imposes an age-limit for entry into law courses. Advocate Gopal Shankaranaraynan who appeared for one of the affected students argued that globally, there is no age limit for pursuing legal education and wondered what made India so different.