No More Extortionate Fees: Kerala High Court Streamlines Lawyer Enrollment

The process of becoming an advocate in Kerala has received a significant judicial intervention. In a landmark decision, the High Court of Kerala has explicitly prohibited the Bar Council from levying charges on applicants for the verification of their academic credentials.

The division bench comprising Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. and Justice P. V. Balakrishnan delivered the judgment in Alan Benny v. Union of India and Others , effectively ending the practice of passing the administrative costs of certificate verification onto aspiring lawyers.

The Backdrop: A Struggle for Fairness

The dispute arose when appellant Alan Benny challenged an interim order from a Single Judge, which had mandated that his enrollment application be processed only upon the submission of a fee receipt for verifying his SSLC, Plus Two, Degree, and LLB certificates.

Mr. Benny contended that such charges were not only burdensome but contrary to the judicial position taken by the Supreme Court. The Bar Council of Kerala, defending its position, relied on a 2017 circular from the Bar Council of India, which had sanctioned a fee of ₹2,500 per candidate to cover these administrative burdens.

The Legal Tug-of-War

The appellant grounded his argument in an order from the Supreme Court of India in WP(C) No. 82/2023 , which clearly mandated that universities and examination boards must verify the genuineness of educational certificates without charging any fee.

The Bar Council of India’s circular, Annexure R1(a), had long served as the justification for these charges. However, the High Court found this circular incompatible with the broader directives issued by the apex court. The bench reasoned that since the Bar Council is tasked with requesting verification, the financial obligation cannot be shifted to the individual enrollable candidate, particularly when the certifying institutions are already under a mandate to provide these services for free.

Key Observations

The judgment clarifies that the financial burden placed on applicants was not justified under the current legal framework. The following excerpts highlight the court's stance:

• "There is a specific direction issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court to the effect that all Universities and Examination Boards shall verify the genuineness of the educational certificates without charging any fee for the purpose of verification."
• "There is a duty cast upon the Bar Council to get the certificates of the applicant verified by the concerned Boards and Universities, without charging any fees."
• "In the light of the observations made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court also, we do not find any entitlement on the part of the 1st respondent to collect the fees for verification."

A Practical Path Forward

The High Court’s decision is not merely a theoretical victory; it provides immediate relief. Recognizing that the next enrollment cycle was looming on January 5, 2025, the court pragmatically ordered that the Bar Council of Kerala must process enrollment applications immediately.

Crucially, the Court ruled that the petitioner—and by extension, other applicants—should be permitted to enroll even if the verification process has not reached completion by the scheduled date. To safeguard the integrity of the bar, the court included a caveat: if the certificates are subsequently found to be non-genuine, the Bar Council retains the right to cancel the enrollment.

This ruling serves as a vital check on administrative overreach, ensuring that the path to the legal profession remains accessible and that fee structures are strictly aligned with the mandate of the Advocates Act and Supreme Court directives.