The Bar Council of India (BCI) has told the Supreme Court that it has withdrawn upper age limits for admission to 3-year and 5-year law courses. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana closed the long-running case on Friday, 6 November, according to LiveLaw. The BCI’s General Council passed the resolution a day earlier.
What was the rule?
Clause 28 in Schedule III of the BCI’s Rules of Legal Education, 2008, set a maximum age for admission, including 20 years for the integrated 5-year course. The BCI withdrew the clause in 2013 and brought it back through a circular in 2016. That circular was challenged in the Supreme Court in Rishabh Duggal v. Bar Council of India. High courts had also disagreed: Punjab and Haryana and Bombay struck the clause down, while Madras upheld it.
Why did the BCI drop it?
LiveLaw reports that the General Council found an absolute age limit lacked enough academic justification. It said existing rules on qualifications, attendance, teaching hours, exams and training protect standards without shutting out eligible candidates because of age. In August, the Supreme Court had asked the BCI’s counsel to get instructions on withdrawing the circular.
What changes for you?
If you were held back only by age, such as a working professional or someone returning to study, the BCI’s age limit should no longer stop you. The other requirements for admission stay in place, including the qualifying exam and any entrance test a university uses.
What should you check?
- The admission brochure. We have not seen whether any university or state still has its own age limit, so check before you apply or pay a fee.
- The BCI’s formal notice. We have read reports of the resolution, not the document or a circular based on it.
- Whether it lasts. The petitioner’s lawyer reminded the court that the BCI has reversed itself before. LiveLaw reports that the resolution calls the decision final.
Sources: LiveLaw and Bar and Bench, 6 November 2026. Case: Rishabh Duggal v. Bar Council of India, W.P.(C) 1023/2016.
