Allahabad HC on AIBE: UP Bar Council Must Issue Enrollment Numbers Within 4 Weeks of Results

How the Issue Arose in a Bail Hearing

Both the decisions were issued while hearing a bail matter where a collateral issue surfaced. The question that surfaced before the court was whether an advocate who graduated after the 2009-10 academic session, and had not cleared the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) despite the two-year window lapsing, could argue the case. The advocate in question, Shri Jaihind Gaund, was allowed to argue as a one-time exception under Section 32 of the Advocates Act, 1961. Meanwhile, the advocate clarified that he had passed the AIBE exam on July 18, 2026 and asked for a direction that BCI issue permanent enrollment numbers within one week of receiving results.

BCI's Stand on Provisional Enrollment and AIBE Attempts

During the hearing, the Bar Council of India submitted that Rule 5 of verification applies once Certificate of Practice renewal after five years is due. Meanwhile, as per BCI, Rule 9 of the AIBE Rules, 2010 originally barred practice without passing AIBE, but a BCI resolution dated April 12, 2013 allowed provisional two-year enrollment, after which practice rights are revoked if AIBE isn't cleared. The BCI clarified that there are no restrictions on the number of attempts for the AIBE exam.

Four-Week Deadline Set for Enrollment Numbers in U.P.

The Allahabad HC directed the Chairman and Secretary of the Bar Council of U.P. to issue enrollment numbers within four weeks of receiving AIBE results. The court order read, “The Chairman as well as Secretary of Bar Council of U.P. are directed to issue enrollment number to the advocates who qualify AIB exam within a period of four weeks from the date of receiving result card of AIBE so that their precious time may not be wasted.”

Allahabad HC on COP Issuance and Validity

The Allahabad HC observed that the validity of COP obtained upon passing AIBE exam is five years. The expiry of the COP after 5 years doesn’t automatically disable the advocate from practising. Pointing to Rule 5 of the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, the Court noted that the disability would only be effective when the advocate's name is published under Rule 20.4 as a non-practising advocate

Key Takeaways from the Order

After hearing all the arguments and submissions, the Allahabad High Court ordered that advocates who obtained their LLB degree in academic session 2009-10 or later and provisionally enrolled with the Bar Council of U.P will not be allowed to practice if they fail to qualify the AIBE exam within two years of provisional enrollment. The single judge also noted, “"...it is further clarified that advocates who are having provisional enrollment certificate of the Bar Council of U.P. but do not have an advocate roll of the High Court can appear in High Court for a period of 2 years along with advocates who are on the advocate roll of High Court, Allahabad or Lucknow..”

The court also directed the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to ensure that police verification of law graduates seeking enrollment as advocates is completed within two weeks of receiving the verification form from the Bar Council of U.P. The order further directed that a copy of the judgment be circulated to Revenue Courts and Tribunals in Uttar Pradesh.