The petitioner identified that until she clears the examination and has the enrollment certificates, it was not attainable for her to surrender her employment and lose her common supply of earnings.
The Gujarat Excessive Court docket on Friday watered down particular guidelines of the Bar Council of Gujarat within the case of a single mom who was requested to surrender different types of vocation earlier than enrolling herself as an advocate with the Bar.
The petitioner, Twinkle Mangaonkar, moved the excessive courtroom in 2019, after she acquired her diploma in regulation and utilized to enroll with the Bar Council, with a view to clear the All India Bar Council Examination, additionally submitting the mandatory charge of Rs 16,600 on the time, whereas declaring that she was already employed.
Nonetheless, the Bar Council of Gujarat (BCG), didn’t settle for her utility type on the bottom of her present employment, stating that the enrollment guidelines stipulate that one shouldn’t be employed elsewhere, both in full or half time service or/and isn’t engaged in any commerce, enterprise or occupation. The BCG requested the petitioner to resign to take a seat for the examination.
The petitioner identified that until she clears the examination and has the enrollment certificates, it was not attainable for her to surrender her employment and lose her common supply of earnings. The requests, nonetheless, weren’t accepted.
Mangaonkar, dwelling together with her college-going son and retired father, following the demise of her journalist husband in 2009, sought that rule 1 and rule 2 of BCG Enrollment Guidelines be learn down.
She stated that “the method of giving up her present job and taking over regulation as a full time occupation needs to be a gradual course of”, and that she will be able to “surrender her present job and take up the occupation of regulation solely when her circumstances allow her to take action”.
The petitioner additionally submitted that when she clears the Bar Council entrance examination, she would submit a declaration on oath that she has given up the job.
Whereas announcing the decision on Friday, the division bench acknowledged, “It’s an excessive amount of to say that an individual desirous of getting themselves enrolled as an advocate with the state Bar Council needs to be requested at its inception to surrender some other vocation — enterprise or job — and solely thereafter he/she may be enrolled… The woman is in a helpless state of affairs. Right now if she provides up her job being a single mom and god forbid she is unable to clear the bar council examination, then she can be left with none technique of livelihood…”
The division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala thus learn down the 2 respective guidelines – rule 1 and a pair of of BCG Enrollment Guidelines.
The courtroom additionally directed BCG to concern a provisional enrollment certificates to her in order that she will be able to seem for the bar exams, and the registration quantity required for her to seem within the exams, be offered to her inside three days.
