- (1.) The Court:- The petitioner in this WP under art.226 dated December 21, 2011 is seeking the following principal relief : "(a) A Writ and/or in the nature of Mandamus do issue commanding the Respondents to forthwith enrol the Petitioner as Advocate within the meaning of Advocates Act."
(2.) After obtaining International General Certificate of Secondary Education from the University of Cambridge in June 2002 and General Certificate of Secondary Education from OCR also in June 2002, the petitioner studied the Michaelmas Term 2004 Law Tripos Course of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge and obtained a 3-Year BA Degree. The Official Transcript dated July 26, 2007 (at p.23) issued by the University shows that the level of the qualification is Undergraduate (Full-Time) 3-Years. Case of the petitioner is this. He applied to the Bar Council of West Bengal in prescribed form for admission as an advocate. The Bar Council has not disposed of the application. Mr.Ganguly appearing for the petitioner has submitted as follows. The Bar Council has declined to admit the petitioner as an advocate on its roll, presumably because of a notification dated February 21, 2005 (at p.31) issued by the Bar Council of India. In view of the directions given in para. 2 of the notification, the Bar Council cannot refuse the application, because the petitioner had joined the 3-Year Law Course at the University of Cambridge in 2004. Mr.Mukherjee appearing for the Bar Council of India has submitted as follows. In view of the notification dated February 21, 2005 issued by the Bar Council of India and the clarifications issued thereafter on the basis of a decision of its Legal Education Committee taken in the meeting held on February 7, 2009 (at p.32), there can be no doubt that the petitioner does not possess the requisite qualifications for admission as an advocate on the roll of the Bar Council.
(3.) The Official Transcript issued by the University of Cambridge reveals that the petitioner did a 3-Year (Full Time) Undergraduate Program at the University of Cambridge; that it was a Course of the Faculty of Law of the University; that he did it for obtaining a 3-Year BA Degree qualification; that his main field of study was Law Tripos; and that on June 28, 2007 the University conferred on him the Bachelor of Arts Degree. The first paragraph one of the notification dated February 21, 2005 issued by the Bar Council of India provides that the candidates holding degrees in Law from foreign Universities recognised by the Bar Council of India for enrollment as advocates should have undergone a 3-Year LLB Course after graduation in any other discipline in the pattern of 10+2+3 or a 5-Year Integrated Law Course after Higher Secondary Examination in the pattern of 10+2.;