BCI to hold All India Bar Examination twice a year, allow final semester LLB students

The Bar Council of India has informed the Supreme Court that the All India Bar Examination will now be conducted twice a year and that final semester LLB students will be eligible to appear for the test, subject to specified conditions.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta recorded the submission while hearing a petition filed in 2024 seeking permission for final-year law students to take the qualifying examination and subsequently disposed of the plea.

The BCI told the court that under the newly framed BCI Rules, 2026, students in the final semester of their LLB program will be allowed to sit for the AIBE, provided they clear their final university examinations. Passing the AIBE remains mandatory for law graduates seeking enrollment as advocates with state bar councils.

The issue has been under judicial consideration for several years. In February 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the BCI’s authority to conduct the AIBE and supported proposals to permit final semester students to appear for the exam upon submission of valid proof of eligibility. The court later directed the BCI to frame appropriate rules on the matter.

In 2024, the court granted interim relief allowing final-year students to take the bar exam.

In an order dated September 20, 2024, the bench observed that denying final semester students the opportunity to appear for the AIBE would lead to the loss of an academic year and adversely affect their professional prospects.

The court also allowed several final-year candidates, including a Delhi University student, to appear for the AIBE held in November 2024.

The petition had challenged a BCI notification that barred final-year LLB students from taking the examination, arguing that the restriction would unnecessarily delay their entry into the legal profession.

Under existing rules, clearing the AIBE is compulsory before a law graduate can begin practicing as an advocate.