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Supreme Court doesn't want to hear bar exam cases, to move into Delhi HC

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The Supreme Court today outright dismissed one public interest litigation (PIL) against the bar exam filed by a Delhi University law graduate and issued directions to combine the pending national high court writ petitions against the bar exam for hearing before the Delhi High Court, as Friday's Bonnie FOI case was adjourned.

The matters Bar Council of India Vs Babubhai Vaghela & Ors (TP(C)No.697-702/2010) and Anoop Prakash Awasthi & Ors Vs Bar Council of India (WP (C)No.253/2010) were listed for preliminary hearing and admission before the division bench consisting of chief justice of India S H Kapadia and justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar as item number 55 in court number one at 1:15pm.

In the case brought by petitioner and Delhi University student Anoop Prakash Awasti directly to the Supreme Court, Justice Kumar ordered the case to be dismissed, arguing that a six-month waiting period to attain the license to practice was not unreasonable.

"Let the legal reforms begin somewhere," justice Kumar observed according to Awasthi.

The apex court also heard the Bar Council of India's (BCI) transfer petition, which was requesting all writ petitions in various Indian high courts to be transferred to the Supreme Court to be heard together.

Chief justice Kapadia disagreed that the Supreme Court was the correct forum and argued that an appropriate High Court should hear the matter.

BCI spokesperson Gopal Sankaranarayanan confirmed the development and said: "The Supreme Court has issued notice for two weeks during which that the transfer petition remains in the Supreme Court."

Each of the petitioners against the bar exams in the various high courts would be served notice to respond, he said, and if they had no objections the Supreme Court would seek to transfer the cases to the Delhi High Court for hearing.

As reported on Legally India, Awasthi had filed a PIL (WP (C)No. 253/2010) last month invoking the writ jurisdiction of the apex court under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution while as many as ten reported writ petitions had been filed against the bar exam in various high courts of the country by law students.

 "I was not allowed to speak for more than 45 seconds and it was as though they had come predetermined to dismiss our petition," Awasthi told Legally India about today's Supreme Court hearing. "Justice Kapadia just told me to not speak."

"This was despite the plea of the respondent’s [BCI] counsel that our petition be allowed to continue as a part of the transfer petition," he added.

Meanwhile, the Bonnie FOI against the BCI, which was listed for hearing on 30 July was adjourned. The case concerned BCI inspections of law colleges, with the case reaching the Supreme Court in 2008 where the bench also addressed issues related to general legal education reform to improve standards.  

Last week another writ petition was filed and admitted in the Jodhpur High Court that sought reply from the bar council within two weeks on the bar exams taking the total number of reported cases challenging the exam to eleven.

Photo by comedynose

Supreme Court does not want to hear bar exam cases

The Supreme Court today outright dismissed one public interest litigation (PIL) against the bar exam filed by a Delhi University law graduate and issued directions to combine the pending national high court writ petitions against the bar exam for hearing before the Delhi High Court, as Friday's Bonnie FOI case was adjourned.

 

The matters Bar Council of India Vs Babubhai Vaghela & Ors - TP(C)No.697-702/2010 and Anoop Prakash Awasthi & Ors Vs Bar Council of India - WP (C)No.253/2010 were listed for preliminary hearing and admission before the division bench consisting of chief justice of India S H Kapadia and justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar as item number 55 in court number one at 1:15pm.

 

In the case brought by petitioner and Delhi University student Anoop Prakash Awasti directly to the Supreme Court, Justice Kumar ordered the case to be dismissed, arguing that a six-month waiting period to attain the license to practice was not unreasonable.

 

"Let the legal reforms begin somewhere," justice Kumar observed, according to Awasthi.

 

The apex court also heard the Bar Council of India's (BCI) transfer petition, which was requesting all writ petitions in various Indian high courts to be transferred to the Supreme Court to be heard together.

 

Chief justice Kapadia disagreed that the Supreme Court was the correct forum and argued that an appropriate High Court should hear the matter.

 

BCI spokesperson Gopal Sankaranarayanan confirmed the development and said: "The Supreme Court has issued notice for two weeks during which that the transfer petition remains in the Supreme Court."

 

Each of the petitioners against the bar exams in the various high courts would be served notice to respond, he said, and if they had no objections the Supreme Court would seek to transfer the cases to the Delhi High Court for hearing.

 

As reported on Legally India, Awasthi had filed a PIL (WP (C)No. 253/2010) last month invoking the writ jurisdiction of the apex court under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution while as many as ten reported writ petitions had been filed against the bar exam in various high courts of the country by law students.

https://www.legallyindia.com/201007201117/Law-schools/students-take-bar-exam-to-sc-as-writ-petition-count-hits-9

 

 "I was not allowed to speak for more than 45 seconds and it was as though they had come predetermined to dismiss our petition," Awasthi told Legally India about today's Supreme Court hearing. "Justice Kapadia just told me to not speak."

 

"This was despite the plea of the respondent’s [BCI] counsel that our petition be allowed to continue as a part of the transfer petition," he added.

 

Meanwhile, the Bonnie FOI against the BCI, which was listed for hearing on 30 July was adjourned.    The Bonnie FOI case concerned BCI inspections of law colleges, with the case reaching the Supreme Court in 2008 where the bench also addressed issues related to general legal education reform to improve standards.

 

Last week another writ petition was filed and admitted in the Jodhpur High Court that sought reply from the bar council within two weeks on the bar exams taking the total number of reported cases challenging the exam to eleven.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/bar-council-of-indias-move-for-exam-challenged-in-rajasthan/182581.html

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