Supreme Court Junks Plea Against Fee Charged By BCI For Holding All India Bar Examination
|The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea challenging the Rs 3,500 fee charged by the Bar Council of India for conducting the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).
A bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Sandeep Mehta observed BCI incurred huge expenses for conducting the exam and charging the fee was not violative of any provisions of the Constitution.
The Apex Court had previously issued notice to the BCI on a plea filed by advocate Sanyam Gandhi.
The bench noted Gandhi was asked by the court to first approach the BCI before coming to the court.
The plea had challenged BCI's fee structure for AIBE and contended BCI charged Rs 3,500 in addition to other incidental charges from General/OBC candidates and Rs 2,500 in addition to other incidental charges from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates.
The plea, therefore, sought a prohibition against collecting such amounts in future and refund of amounts already collected as part of application process for the All India Bar Exam 2025 (AIBE-XIX).
The petitioner argued the current fee system violated Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 19(1)(g) (Right to Practice Profession) of the Constitution of India, along with Section 24(1)(f) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the Bar Council of India about the presence of a scheme to waive off fee of poor LLB graduates who write the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) to enrol as lawyers.
With PTI Inputs