The Supreme Court of India (SC) on November 29 rejected a petition seeking to strike down a rule of the Bar Council of India (BCI) that mandates Indian citizens who hold foreign law degrees to pass an additional qualifying examination before being allowed to practise in India, even after completing BCI’s two-year “bridge course”.
The petition was filed by an Indian graduate of a foreign university who underwent the bridge course at the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER), Goa, Bar and Bench reports.
The petitioner argued that the BCI’s qualifying exam lacked statutory authority and amounted to duplicative testing, as such graduates already clear the AIBE (the All India Bar Examination) after the bridge course.
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta declined to interfere with the BCI’s additional exam requirement.
The Court observed that the petitioner had earlier approached the Delhi High Court, which dealt with a related case, and later withdrew the case. As a result, the SC was unwilling to entertain what it regarded as a premature writ petition under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.
The BCI had told the Delhi High Court that the next qualifying exam for such foreign-degree holders will be conducted between December 15-20, 2025, with the next AIBE scheduled for June 2026.
Successful candidates clearing the qualifying exam will be granted provisional registration by their State Bar Councils and allowed to begin practising pending the AIBE.
This ruling diverges from a 2024 judgment of the Karnataka High Court, which had exempted a candidate with a similar petition, a foreign-qualified lawyer who completed the bridge course, from any additional exam besides the AIBE.
