The Supreme Court on Tuesday proposed that the Bar Council of India (BCI) mandate advocates enrolled after 2010 to explicitly declare in their vakalatnama whether they have passed the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).

AIBE was introduced in 2010 to assess the basic legal skills of law graduates before allowing them to practice.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan, made the suggestion while hearing a plea related to regulatory reforms in legal education and enrolment. The Chief Justice noted that such a requirement would promote transparency and reinforce compliance with the Advocates Act.

“Why don’t you make it mandatory in the vakalatnama itself to mention if AIBE has been passed? Why not make a rule mandating that every vakalatnama mention the enrolment number, and if the enrolment is after 2010, then let it be mentioned that AIBE is passed,” CJI Khanna remarked. “You are the BCI. You are whole and soul. If someone does not do it, then it will be misconduct under the Advocates Act.”

The hearing follows the August 2023 Constitution Bench judgment that upheld the validity of requiring law graduates to pass the AIBE before practicing. That ruling also allowed final-year law students to take the exam, a flexibility later formalized by BCI notifications.

The bench also addressed the issue of enrolment fees, asking the BCI to clarify whether it intends to seek a review of the 2023 judgment concerning the fees charged by law colleges and from law students.

The case will continue once the BCI states its stand on the matter.