BCI removes age limit for law courses, Supreme Court disposes of petition

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has withdrawn the age limit prescribed for law courses. Following this decision, the Supreme Court has disposed of the petition filed against the age limit restriction. Due to this significant decision, there will now be no age limit for seeking admission to 3-year and 5-year LLB courses.

According to a report by The Economic Times, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohanan took note of the BCI's decision and subsequently disposed of the relevant petition. The matter was linked to a petition filed by Rishabh Duggal. Duggal had challenged a 2016 circular of the BCI, which had reinstated Clause 28 of Schedule III of the 'Rules of Legal Education, 2008'.

It is noteworthy that the BCI had previously set an upper age limit of 22 years for the 5-year LLB course and 45 years for the 3-year course. The legal battle against this rule had been ongoing for a long time. In this regard, the Supreme Court had stayed the BCI's decision as early as March 2017, which had halted the implementation of the age limit.

Now that the BCI has officially removed this age limit, the doors have opened for all individuals wishing to pursue legal education. The Court has closed the case by accepting these corrective measures of the BCI, meaning any person can now study law regardless of their age. This decision provides relief especially to those candidates who wished to build a career in the legal field at a later stage in life.