A person included in medical practitioner register holds right to practice another profession and cannot enroll as advocate without prior cancellation of such registration, as bar rules prohibit engagement entailing divided professional loyalty (38 words).

JUDGMENT :

BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.

1. Can a registered medical practitioner of Homoeopathy be denied permission to enrol as an Advocate unless the applicant cancels the registration as a Homoeopath? Is it enough that the licence to practice another profession be cancelled after enrolment as an Advocate? These questions require answers in the instant case. The issues arise for consideration as the petitioner, despite being a registered Homoeopath, seeks to enrol herself as an Advocate without cancelling her registration as a medical practitioner.

2. While practicing as a Homoeopath, petitioner decided to pursue a course in law. After cancelling her licence issued by the local authority to run her Homoeopathic clinic, petitioner underwent a three year Unitary LL.B course during the period from 2022 to 2025. After acquiring a degree in law and after clearing the All India Bar Examination, petitioner applied to the Bar Council of Kerala on 17-11-2025, for enrolment as an Advocate. Petitioner was thereafter directed to appear before the Bar Council on 13-12-2025 for physical verification of the documents. On noticing that the cancellation certificate as a Homoeo Doctor had not been uploaded, petitioner was informed by email of the same date, to upload the said document. Pursuant to the said communication, an affidavit dated 05.12.2025 was thereafter filed stating that she had cancelled the licence for the clinic issued by the Municipality and that she had not practiced Homoeopathy from the date of such cancellation. Petitioner also submitted an undertaking that she will not engage in the medical profession simultaneously and that if she decides to practice medicine, she will inform the Bar Council and suspend her enrolment.

3. According to the petitioner, when she was given an opportunity for a personal hearing, she submitted Ext.P11 undertaking in Form No.6 as required under Rule 2(h) Chapter V of the Bar Council of Kerala Rules, 1979, stating that, upon her enrolment as an Advocate, she would not practice medicine or engage in the medical profession simultaneously. After the personal hearing, since the petitioner did not receive any reply, she verified the list of candidates to be enroled and found her name absent in the enrolment list for January 2026. Petitioner alleges that she was arbitrarily denied permission to enrol as an Advocate. As the petitioner learnt that another enrolment is about to take place in March 2026, she filed this writ petition seeking various reliefs, including quashing Ext.P17 proceedings of the enrolment committee, deciding to consider her enrolment application only after she cancels her registration as a medical practitioner. A declaration is also sought that petitioner shall be deemed to have been enroled as an Advocate on the State rolls from January 2026 onwards, apart from a direction to enrol her as an Advocate at the next enrolment, as well for grant of compensation for the wrongful denial of permission to enrol.

4. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondents 1 to 3, pointing out that, though the petitioner possesses a degree in law, from the documents submitted by her, it was revealed that she had obtained a degree in Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine on 07.04.2008, but had not produced any document evidencing the cancellation of her licence as a Homoeo Doctor and hence she was directed to upload the same. It was also revealed that she was practising as a Homoeopathic consultant for a period of five years from 2017 to 2022 in her own building and that she cancelled the licence issued by the local authority for running the clinic. Respondents also pleaded that in the letter dated 03.01.2026, petitioner had specifically stated that cancellation of her registration as a Homoeopath will result in her unable to get back into the medical profession if she decides to do so later, and hence she had expressed her difficulties against cancellation of her medical registration. Though petitioner