Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 10
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has directed law graduates enrolled as advocates from the 2009-10 academic year onwards to qualify the All-India Bar Examination if they have not already passed it, making the test a requirement for obtaining full enrolment certificates and practising law under the applicable rules.
The court said provisionally enrolled advocates must qualify the examination and submit a Certificate of Practice issued by the Bar Council of India within two years to receive an absolute certificate of enrolment.
The decision follows approval by the court’s Full Court at a meeting on October 8, 2026, of recommendations made by its Rules Committee on August 19, according to a notification issued by Registrar General M.K. Sharma.
The matter was referred to the Rules Committee by the chief justice. The committee recommended implementing Rules 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter III, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules governing the All-India Bar Examination across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Under a further direction, advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after July 1, 2010, who have already qualified the examination must submit copies of their Certificates of Practice to the court registry within one month of the notification’s issuance.
The directions are based on the All-India Bar Examination Rules, 2010, which require covered advocates to pass the examination to become entitled to practise.
The examination, conducted by the Bar Council of India, assesses candidates’ knowledge of substantive and procedural law. The rules require it to be held at least twice a year, with the prescribed syllabus published at least three months before each examination.
Candidates who fail may reappear without a limit on the number of attempts. Those who pass are entitled to a Certificate of Practice issued by the Bar Council of India.
The notification also provides for changes to the instructions and guidelines accompanying applications for enrolment as advocates, in accordance with the Advocates Act, 1961, and the relevant Bar Council of India Rules.
