Kerala High Court Orders Bar Council to Process Enrollment of 1995 Evening College Law Graduate
The Kerala High Court has granted interim relief to a retired government employee, PS Vijayakumaran, whose request for enrollment as an advocate was earlier denied by the Bar Council of Kerala.
Justice Easwaran S admitted his petition and directed the Bar Council to immediately accept and process his enrollment application. The Court also ordered that no optional fees should be demanded, relying on a Supreme Court ruling in KLJA Kiran Babu v. Karnataka State Bar Council.
Vijayakumaran completed his LL.B degree in 1995 from an evening college. However, his enrollment was blocked on the Bar Council’s online portal, citing the Bar Council of India’s 2008 Rules of Legal Education, which do not recognise evening law courses.
He argued that such denial was arbitrary and violated his fundamental rights under Articles 14 (equality), 19(1)(g) (right to profession), and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution.
The petitioner also challenged the ₹60,400 enrollment fee demanded by the Council, which included:
- ₹25,000 as a “special fee” for retired employees
- ₹15,000 for applying after more than 10 years of graduation
- ₹19,450 as optional fees
He submitted that Section 24(1)(f) of the Advocates Act, 1961 prescribes only ₹750 as the statutory enrollment fee, and charging more was illegal and unconstitutional.
Highlighting his financial difficulties, Vijayakumaran informed the Court that his wife is undergoing cancer treatment requiring medicines worth over ₹85,000 per month, and the refusal of enrollment was affecting his family’s livelihood.
Considering these facts, the Court directed the Bar Council to process his enrollment application without collecting optional fees.
Advocates PV Uttara and Samah Abdul Majid represented the petitioner.
