The Supreme Court has directed State Bar Councils to submit reports confirming adherence to the rule requiring Senior Advocates to offer internships to law students.

Rule 26 imposes a responsibility on State Bar Councils to compile a district-wise roster of recommended Senior Advocates possessing a minimum of 10 years of experience and expressing a willingness to mentor law interns during court holidays.

Recently, the Supreme Court directed State Bar Councils to submit status reports regarding adherence to the rule stipulating that Bar Councils must compile a list of Senior Advocates in each district who are willing to provide internships to law students during vacation periods [Neeraj Salodkar vs Bar Council of India and ors]. The order was issued by a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta on January 16.

The Court instructed, “Let the State Bar Councils enter appearance and file respective status report(s) stating whether they have implemented and are in compliance with Rule 26 of Schedule III to the Rules of Legal Education, 2008. The said status report will be filed within six weeks from today.”

Rule 26 imposes a responsibility on State Bar Councils to compile a district-wise roster of recommended Senior Advocates with a minimum of ten years’ experience who are willing to mentor law interns during court holidays. The rule specifies:

“The State Bar Councils shall be required to prepare a list of suggested Senior Advocates District-wise with at least ten years experience who are willing to take under internship students during the vacation period. The Bar Council of India shall then publish the list of senior lawyers willing to guide students under internship on the website as well as make the list available with the institutions.”

During the hearing, the bench added that the Bar Council of India (BCI) is responsible for publishing the lists of such senior counsel prepared by the State Bar Councils, for the benefit of law students. This order was issued in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Neeraj Salodkar.

Significantly, in June 2022, the Central Information Commission (CIC) reprimanded the BCI for inadequately responding to a right to information (RTI) application filed by him seeking a list of senior advocates under the 2008 Rules.

Although the BCI instructed him to approach the respective State Bar councils, the CIC expressed strong disapproval, stating that it “takes grave exception to the irony in the fact that BCI is admittedly not implementing Rule 26 of Schedule III of Part IV of the Rules of Legal Education framed by it, thus rendering the provision inconsequential.”

The BCI was then directed to promptly publish and update such lists on their website regularly.

In case of non-compliance, Salodkar took the matter to the Supreme Court.

In March of the previous year, the BCI’s counsel had informed that preparations were underway for such a list.

 

Advocates Radhika Gautam and Anjul Dwivedi appeared for the Bar Council of India.

Petitioner Neeraj Salodkar appeared in-person.

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