State Bar Council Cannot Reject Lawyer's Enrolment for Lack of Bachelor's Degree Without BCI Referral: Karnataka HC

Karnataka High Court has notified that the State Bar Council cannot reject a lawyer enrolment application over a missing bachelor's degree without consulting the Bar Council of India. The court emphasised that the BCI rules permit reviewing an alternative qualification, protecting a law graduate's right to the legal profession.

The Karnataka High Court issued a judgment regarding advocate registration. The Karnataka HC ruled that a State Bar Council cannot reject a lawyer enrolment application simply because the applicant does not have a Bachelor's degree. Law graduates holding non-traditional educational paths have been relieved by the ruling issued by the court. 

Reportedly, Justice Suraj Govindaraj clarified that if a student completed a three-year LL.B degree after a postgraduate course like an M.A., the state body cannot reject the application on its own. Instead, it must forward the matter to the Bar Council of India to evaluate if the alternative qualification holds equal weightage as per BCI rules. 

The court further noted that the legal profession right is protected as a fundamental freedom under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. Since getting on the state enrolment is mandatory to start a courtroom practice, rejecting an applicant directly impacts the livelihood of such a lawyer. Therefore, statutory procedures must be strictly followed.

High Court Highlights Strict Compliance With Section 26 of Advocates Act

The judgment came in a case where an applicant completed a Master's degree via correspondence without earning a prior Bachelor's degree and later graduated with an LLB in 1997. Decades later, upon retiring from government service, the Karnataka State Bar Council rejected his request to register as an advocate. 

The court set aside this rejection order, pointing directly to Section 26(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961. Under this rule, whenever a state council plans to refuse a person’s entry to the rolls, it is legally bound to refer the proposal to the National Bar Council of India for a final opinion.