The main legal principle established is that LLB graduates in employment should be given the flexibility to appear in the All India Bar Examination and decide on employment after passing the exam, in accordance with previous court decisions and the Supreme Court's directions.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner - Mr. Sandeep, S/o Mr. Shishpal Singh, who is a LLB graduate from the batch of 2014- 2017, University of Delhi. The Petitioner has been working as a Senior Assistant with the Delhi Jal Board from 3rd October, 2016.

3. It is the case of the Petitioner that he wishes to appear in the All India Bar Examination (hereinafter, "AIBE-XVII"), which is scheduled to be held on 5th February, 2023. The last date of filing of the application form for AIBE-XVII is 16th January, 2023. The Petitioner is stated to have filed the application and provided all the required documents to the Respondent No.3 - Bar Council of Delhi (hereinafter, "BCD"). However, the provisional enrolment number has not yet been made available to the Petitioner, because of which he is unable to file the application for appearing in the AIBE-XVII. It is submitted that the following message was received from the office of the BCD on 14th December, 2022:

"Mr. Sandeep S/o Mr. Shishpal Singh

It has been informed that you had submitted your enrolment form on 12.10.2022 in Bar Council of Delhi. Your enrolment form was sent for legal opinion because you are presently in Government Service. As per legal opinion presently your enrolment has been denied with Bar Council of Delhi as an Advocate. Please collect the copy of Legal Opinion letter from the office of Bar Council of Delhi."

4. The Petitioner relies upon the decision of the High Court of Gujarat in "Twinkle Rahul Mangaonkar v. Union of India in R/Special Civil Application No. 15123 of 2019", wherein the Court had permitted persons who are in employment to take the bar exam and had given six months to them after the clearing of the bar exam, as to whether they wish to continue with the employment or start practising. The relevant observations in the said judgment are as under:

"32. It is too much to say that a person desirous to get himself enrolled as an Advocate with the State Bar Council should be asked at its inception to give up any other vocation, business or job and only, thereafter, he can be enrolled on the roll of the State Bar Council. We are dealing with a matter, in which, as single mother has come before us saying that no sooner she is enrolled as an Advocate after clearing the Bar Council Entrance Exam, then she would file a declaration on oath that she has given up the job which she has as on date. The lady is in a helpless situation. Today, if she gives up her job being a single mother, and god forbid if she is unable to clear the All India Bar examination, then she would be left without any means of livelihood. She has made herself very clear that she may be issued a provisional Sanad and such provisional Sanad shall remain in deposit with the Bar Council of Gujarat and she would obtain the final Sanad after clearing the Bar Council of India Exam. She has already filed an undertaking to this effect. We have quoted the entire undertaking in the earlier part of our judgment. If that be so, may it not be said that the object of Rules 1 and 2 respectively of the Bar Council of Gujarat (Enrollment) Rules as well as Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules is protected and sub-served.

33. In such circumstances, referred to above, we read down Rules 1 and 2 respectively of the Bar Council of Gujarat (Enrollment) Rules so as to read that a person may be either in full or part time service or employment or is engaged in any trade, business or profession, who otherwise is qualified to be admitted as an Advocate shall be admitted as an Advocate, however, the enrollment certificate of such a person shall be withheld with the Bar Council and shall lie in deposit with the Council until the concerned person makes a declaration that the circumstances mentioned in Rule 2 have ceased to exist and that he or she has started his/her practice.

34. We, accordingly, direct the Bar Cou