BCI tells Supreme Court upper age limit for law course admissions has been removed

The maximum age condition for admission to law courses has been removed. The Bar Council of India (BCI) took the decision and told the Supreme Court on Friday that the resolution was approved on November 5. The move is expected to bring major relief to students who wish to study law.

BCI's lawyers gave the information to a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. The Bench took the statement on record and disposed of the related petition.

Under the BCI's Legal Education Rules, 2008, the maximum age for open category candidates for the five-year integrated LLB course was 20 years, with a five-year relaxation for reserved category candidates. For the three-year LLB course, the maximum age was set at 30 years, again with a five-year relaxation for reserved categories.

The age limit had been the subject of court battles for several years, and the condition was repeatedly challenged. In 2013, the BCI withdrew the age limit provision from its 2008 rules. The committee had then said these restrictions violated Article 14 of the Constitution, the right to equality. However, the BCI reinstated the age limit through a circular of September 2016. That decision was also challenged in various courts.

The latest decision follows a hearing in September, in which the Supreme Court asked the BCI to consider removing the maximum age limit for the five-year integrated LLB course. The BCI had then sought time to decide.

At Friday's hearing, the BCI made clear that the resolution to remove the age limit had already been approved on November 5. Senior advocate Zoheb Hussain appeared for the petitioners. He said the age limit had been removed earlier and later reimposed, and therefore asked that the decision approved this time be recorded in the court's order.

The BCI's lawyers said the resolution had only just been approved, so a copy could not yet be filed. The court recorded the BCI's position and disposed of the petition.