The Bar Council of India (BCI) has introduced a one-time provision for specific law graduates who did not meet attendance requirements. This arrangement enables them to apply for enrollment as advocates, provided they belong to a category protected by the Supreme Court and fulfill all other statutory criteria. This decision aims to assist those who faced challenges during their education while ensuring compliance with legal standards.
Supreme Court Protects Law Students’ Enrollment Amid Attendance Issues
The Bar Council of India (BCI) issued an order on August 12, 2026, addressing enrollment challenges faced by students at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. These students reported difficulties due to their universities’ inability to provide the customary attendance or Attendance-cum-Character Certificate.
Under this new one-time arrangement, students who are under the Supreme Court’s protection will not have their enrollment applications rejected or delayed solely due to attendance shortfalls from the protected academic session. The BCI emphasized that attendance deficits should not hinder a student’s opportunity for enrollment, especially when such issues did not prevent them from completing their degree.
The BCI has also clarified that the arrangement will apply uniformly across India and will not be restricted to students of Delhi University or its law centres. Universities and Centres of Legal Education will not be required to certify that a candidate had the prescribed attendance if their contemporaneous records show otherwise. Historical attendance records are also not to be changed or treated as regular. Instead, institutions may issue an alternative certification confirming that the candidate was duly admitted, belonged to the academic session covered by the Supreme Court’s order, was permitted to take the relevant examination, successfully completed the LLB rogramme and holds a genuine degree.
“The determining criterion shall be whether the candidate falls within the category and academic session protected by the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order dated 21.07.2026 and otherwise fulfils the statutory requirements for enrolment,” the order states. “No University or Centre of Legal Education shall be required, for the purpose of this one-time arrangement, to certify as a fact that a candidate possessed the prescribed attendance if its contemporaneous records show otherwise,” the order states.
