BCD reconsidering decision to exclude non-Delhi residents from enrolment, HC told

The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) Monday told the Delhi High Court that it was reconsidering its recent notification which excludes those without Delhi/ NCR addresses on their Voter ID card or Aadhaar from registering with the bar body.

Justice Prathiba M Singh directed the petition to be listed for further hearing on May 23 since the matter is under re-consideration.

The high court asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to file its reply to the issues raised in the petition by a law graduate.

The lawyer representing the BCD submitted the bar body will reconsider the matter in a meeting to be held on May 12.

The court asked the BCD counsel to file a report on the legal position adopted by other states relating to domicile requirements.

The high court was hearing a petition by Rajani Kumari, who has completed her LL.B from Delhi University and is a resident of Bihar.

The BCD had on April 13 issued a notification stating no enrolment shall be done if the applicant law graduate does not provide a copy of the Aadhaar Card and Voter ID Card bearing the address of Delhi/ National Capital Region (NCR).

The BCD lawyer had earlier said it was giving several benefits to its members and was facing ''lots of problems'' due to large enrolments every year.

The petitioner alleged the BCD decision was arbitrary, discriminatory and against the Advocates Act.

In the plea filed through lawyers Lalit Kumar, Shashank Upadhyay and Mukesh, the petitioner said law graduates from far away parts of the country come to the national capital with ''hopes of better prospects and a wider horizon of serving the country'' and seek enrolment with the Bar Council of Delhi to practice.

''The requirement of Aadhaar Card and Voter ID Card with the address of Delhi or NCR discriminates against those law graduates who do not have an address in Delhi or NCR. This creates an arbitrary classification between law graduates based on their residential address, which is a violation of Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution,'' the plea said.

The requirement imposes an ''unreasonable restriction'' on the exercise of the rights of the petitioner and other law graduates from other states and forces an applicant to change their political constituency and give up their voting rights in their original place of domicile by changing their address on voter ID card, the petition said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)