BCI informed Delhi High Court that state domicile is not mandatory for advocate enrollment; only Bar Council of Delhi has made it a requirement

Keywords: BCI enrollment, state domicile, law graduates

According to the Bar Council of India (BCI), only the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) has established the requirement of state domicile for the enrollment of law graduates as advocates, based on the information they have available.

The Bar Council of India (BCI), in an affidavit submitted to the High Court, stated that both the Advocates Act of 1961 and the Bar Councils of India Rules do not mention state domicile as a requirement for enrollment with the respective State Bar Council[1].

In its response to the two petitions brought in relation to a BCD decision, which made an Aadhaar and Voter Identification Card bearing Delhi NCR address compulsory for registration with the BCD, BCI stated that it was unable to provide any further information. The BCD had said in a notification of April 13 that lawyers who want to register with them would need to provide their Aadhaar card and voter ID cards which show they live in Delhi or the National Capital Region[2].

It further stated that copies of the Aadhaar and Voter ID cards, bearing an address in Delhi NCR, would also have to be compulsorily attached by a new law graduate who wants to join the national capital.

Written by- Aditya a student of ILSR, GLA University, Mathura, 2^nd Semester, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

[1] BAR AND BENCH, https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/state-domicile-not-condition-enrolment-advocate-only-bar-council-of-delhi-prescribed-bci-delhi-high-court (last visited on 24^th May, 2023).

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