Supreme Court allows provisional enrolment for distance-mode law graduates

degree through the regular mode but obtained their preceding Bachelor's degrees through open, distance, or correspondence modes. The core issue is the interpretation of Rule 5 of the Rules of Legal Education, 2008, framed by the Bar Council of India.

Who it concerns: Petitioners: STS Gladies (Civil Appeal No. 13559 of 2025) and Kevin Sukirthy (Civil Appeal No. 13562 of 2025). Respondents: Bar Council of India and another. Bench: Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

What the court decided

• Allowed the interim applications (I.A. No. 246673 of 2026 and I.A. No. 154580 of 2025) to the limited extent of granting provisional enrolment as advocates.
• Directed the Telangana State Bar Council to provisionally enrol the applicants/appellants, subject to verification of educational documents and fulfilment of other applicable requirements.
• Clarified that the provisional enrolment is expressly subject to the final outcome of the respective Civil Appeals and does not create any equity in favor of the applicants.
• Stated that the Court is not entering into the merits of the controversy concerning Rule 5 at this stage, which will be considered at the final hearing.
• Ordered that the Civil Appeals shall be listed for hearing in due course.

Also in the document

• The order is interim in nature, granting relief pending the final adjudication of the Civil Appeals.
• The Court noted that continued denial of enrolment during the pendency of the appeals would cause avoidable prejudice to the applicants.
• The provisional enrolment is conditional on the verification of documents and remains subject to the final decision of the Court.