The Karnataka High Court has informed that the Bar Council of India (BCI) has extended the validity of the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) results till March 31, 2026. The decision was announced after a writ petition was filed by two law graduates who raised concerns about delays in their enrolment as advocates.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, while hearing the petition, noted that the BCI has acknowledged the challenges faced by students who cleared the AIBE but were unable to complete their enrolment process with their respective state bar councils. Taking these difficulties into account, the Council decided to extend the validity of AIBE results till March 31, 2026, to ensure that the affected candidates are not disadvantaged due to administrative delays.
The court observed that the BCI’s decision would benefit candidates who passed the AIBE but are still awaiting completion of formalities with state bar councils, including the Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC). Previously, many graduates faced hurdles in practising law because their AIBE result validity had expired before enrolment could be finalised.
The Court mentioned that, “BCI, keeping in view the difficulties faced by the students who have qualified the AIBE exam, considered it appropriate to extend the validity of the AIBE results till 21.03.2026, so as to give adequate time to the Karnataka State Bar Council to continue the applications of the concerned students.”
The petitioners had also urged the court to direct the KSBC to process their enrolment applications without additional document verification requirements and sought a refund of the ₹2,500 document verification fee, alleging that it was not permissible under the Advocates Act.
However, the High Court clarified that the challenge to the ₹2,500 verification fee is already under consideration in the Supreme Court (WP No. 352/2023), and therefore, it refrained from issuing any orders on that matter.
The BCI’s move to extend the AIBE result validity till March 31, 2026, is expected to bring relief to several law graduates awaiting enrolment, ensuring that their eligibility to practice law remains intact during the ongoing administrative process.
