AIBE to Be Held Twice a Year; Final Year Law Students Allowed to Appear: BCI Tells Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has been informed that the Bar Council of India (BCI) has framed new rules allowing final semester law students to appear for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).

The BCI also told the Court that the AIBE will now be conducted at least twice a year, instead of once annually. This change is expected to reduce delays for law graduates who wish to enrol as practising advocates.

The submission was made before a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta. After recording the statement, the Court disposed of the petition, noting that the issue raised had already been addressed through the new rules.

As per the BCI, final semester students will be allowed to take the AIBE, subject to clearing their final semester examinations. The Court noted that the purpose of the writ petition had been served since the AIBE Rules, 2026 have now been framed.

The petition was filed by nine final year law students from Delhi University. They had challenged a BCI notification that barred students from appearing for the AIBE before graduation. Clearing the AIBE is mandatory for practising law in Indian courts.

The petitioners argued that the restriction was unfair and contrary to earlier observations of a Constitution Bench, which had suggested that students eligible to appear for their final semester exams could also be permitted to take the AIBE. They also relied on a 2023 Telangana High Court decision that had asked the BCI to reconsider the issue.

According to the students, preventing final semester candidates from taking the AIBE caused unnecessary delays and created an unreasonable distinction between students whose universities declared results early and those that did not.

With the new rules in place, the long-standing concern raised by final year law students has now been addressed.