Willan CJ:

In this Petition the petitioner moved the Court under sub-section 5(5) of the Advocates and Solicitors Ordinance, 1947, to shorten the period during which the notice referred to in sub-section 5(2) is required to remain posted.

The facts are that the petitioner field a previous Petition for Admission, No. 2 of 1948, on the 20 January 1948.In the petition the date of posting of the last of the notices referred to in sub-section 5(2) was the 4 February 1948.The proviso to sub-section 5(4) states that a petition lapses twelve months after the last date of posting, if within that period the petitioner has not applied to set his petition down for hearing.

In that Petition, two of 1948, the petitioner failed to fulfil the requirements of sub-section 7(1) and desired me to accord him an interview in accordance with sub-section 7(4). That interview took place on the 21 January 1949 and on that date I made an order under that sub-section staying further proceedings on Petition No two of 1948 up to and including the 30 June 1949.

On the 24 January 1949 the petitioner wrote to the Secretary of the Federation Bar Council asking whether in view of the fact that he was unable to set down his Petition No. 2 of 1948 for hearing, on account of the stay order made by me, such petition would lapse in view of the proviso to sub-section 5(4). On the 26 January 1949 the Secretary of the Bar Council replied that he did not think sub-section 5(4) applied and that once the petitioner had complied with the requirements of sub-section 7(1), Petition No. 2 of 1948 could be restored under sub-section 7(5). In view of that reply the petitioner did not seek to take any further action regarding Petition No. 2 of 1948.

On the 25 March 1949, the Secretary of the Bar Council again wrote to the petitioner stating that after further consideration he was not certain whether his opinion given in his letter of the 26 January 1949, was correct, and that it might be held that sub-section 7(5) was subject to the proviso to sub-section 5(4).

Upon receipt of that further letter the petitioner field the prisoner field the present Petition, No. 3 of 1949, and the last of the notices referred to in subsection 5(2) was posted, in this petition, on the 10 April 1949.On the 29 July 1949, the petitioner fulfilled the requirements of sub-section 7(1) and, as already stated, he now moves the Court to shorten the period during which the notices must remain posted in this present petition.The grounds in support of this motion, put forward by Mr. Benjamin on his behalf, are:-

(1) The object of posting notices under sub-section 5(2) is to give notice that a petitioner intends to apply to be admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in case any person wishes to raise any objection, and that in this case more than adequate notice has been given in view of the fact that in Petition No. 2 of 1948 notices have remained posted with effect from the 4 February 1948, that is for a period exceeding 18 months, three times the statutory period of six months prescribed by sub-section 5(2).

(2) That if it had not been for the advice contained in the letter he received from the Secretary of the Bar Council dated the 26 January 1949 the petitioner would have field Petition No. 3 of 1949 (the date on which Petition No. 2 of 1948 lapsed) or immediately thereafter, and consequently this motion to shorten the time would not have been necessary.

In so far as sub-section 5(5) of the Advocates and Solicitors Ordinance, 1947, relates to the shortening of the time during which the notice referred to in sub-section 5(2) is required to be posted, it reads:

The Court may, on the application and on special grounds, one of which may be that the petitioner has been engaged in any part of His Majesty's dominions in the active practice of his profession after having qualified as a Barrister of England or Northern Ireland (or of Ireland if called before the one day of October 1921) or as a member of th