Madras High Court Rejects PIL Seeking Reduction of All India Bar Examination Fee
The Madras High Court recently dismissed a petition challenging the application fee for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), conducted by the Bar Council of India (BCI), citing the absence of a statutory provision to regulate the fee.
In an order dated June 18, a Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan and Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai bench rejected the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Gokul Abhimanyu, who sought directions to the BCI to lower the AIBE application fee, currently set at ₹3,500.
The Bench observed that unlike the enrolment fee set by the Advocates Act, there is no statutory provision that caps the AIBE examination fee.
“Unlike the enrolment fee, there is no statutory provision prescribing a specific amount for the examination fee. A Writ of Mandamus can only be issued if the applicant demonstrates a legal right. In this case, no such legal right has been established,” the Court stated.
The Court further remarked that ₹3,500 was not an exorbitant amount, and thus, it saw no reason to intervene.
“Even without a statutory violation, if we find the fee to be exorbitant, we could consider interference. However, this is not the case. The applicants are required to pay only ₹3,500, which cannot be considered high. We find no grounds for interference,” the Court added.
Advocate M Pozhilan represented the petitioner, Gokul Abhimanyu. Deputy Solicitor General of India K Govindarajan represented the Union government and the BCI.
