PIL Seeking Rescheduling Of AIBE XI filed in Bombay High Court

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PIL Seeking Rescheduling Of AIBE XI filed in Bombay High Court
PIL Seeking Rescheduling Of AIBE XI filed in Bombay High Court

Barely a week before this year’s All India Bar Examination (AIBE XI) is to be held,  a plea has been filed to stay it.  

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed with the Bombay High Court by two candidates who are seeking a stay on the grounds that the Bar Council of India(BCI)  had debarred candidates failing to upload required documents on time without sufficient notice.

The petition is by Pooja Pandey and Mukesh Gupta filed through MKS Legal Associates.

Candidates Failing to Upload Corrected Documents Debarred

The notification regarding this year’s exam was released on the AIBE website on July 27.

The application was available for purchase between September 1 and October 31, with registration closing on November 13. A subsequent announcement stated that admit cards for the exam would be sent on November 18 but this was later delayed to November 20

On November 18, the BCI released a list containing names of 2500 candidates whose documentation were deemed to be incomplete. Titled “Last Call for Uploading Corrected Documents”,  the notification asked the concerned candidates to submit corrected documents online before 12 noon by next day, without which they wouldn’t receive admit cards for the exam.

The petitioners are challenging this notification, alleging that it did not give adequate time or notice to the candidates.

BCI Gave Very Short Notice To Upload Corrected Documents

The petition notes that the BCI had issued the list of candidates who had failed to correctly upload the documents without any pre-schedule or prior notification. It further points out that some of the candidates had received the email  very late and many others had not seen the email or checked the website in time.

Calling it a “very short notice”, the petition said that the BCI had debarred the candidates from an exam for which the petitioners and other candidates had waited for a year.

The petition also says that the debarred candidates had not been given sufficient time, particularly since many candidates are from rural areas where electricity and other facilities are problematic.

Also according to the petitioners, the BCI had sent an email out to affected candidates on November 18 stating that they had not uploaded the correct documents despite several emails, messages and calls. However the petitioners  dispute this saying that they had received no warnings previously .

The petitioners made several attempts subsequently to contact the examination authorities but could not do so.

Plea To Reschedule Exam Or Refund Application Fee

The petitioners are requesting the HC to set aside the November 18 notification on the said grounds and direct the BCI to extend the last date for uploading documents, Furthermore, the petition is requesting that the AIBE XI exam, which is scheduled for December 3, be stayed or be rescheduled to another date.

If not, the Court must direct that the application fee amounting to Rs. 3560 be refunded back to the debarred candidates.

The matter will be heard this week by the Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice MS Sonak.

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