The Acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan and Justice GR Swaminathan bench noted that unlike the enrolment fee specified under the Advocates Act, there exists no statutory provision concerning the examination fee for the All India Bar Examination. Consequently, the court emphasized that there was no legal basis upon which a mandamus could be issued.

The court further noted that while it can intervene in cases where fees are deemed excessively high, even without a legal entitlement, in this instance, the court found the application fee of Rs. 3,500/- for the All India Bar Examination not to be unreasonably high.

The court highlighted that Section 24(1)(f) of the Advocates Act specifies the enrolment fee as Rs. 600/- for State Bar Councils and Rs. 150/- for the Bar Council of India. It noted that despite this, State Bar Councils were charging amounts exceeding these limits. A petition on this matter had been filed in the Supreme Court, which had issued notices to the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils in response.

However, in the present case, the court emphasized that the issue at hand pertained specifically to the application fee for the AIBE, not the enrolment fee. In 2017, the Bar Council of India increased the application fee for the AIBE to Rs. 3500. For individuals belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories, the application fee is Rs. 2500.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. M. Pozhilan

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr. K. Govindarajan, Deputy Solicitor General of India

Case Title: Gokul Abhimanyu v Union of India and Another

Case No: W.P.(MD)No.12913 of 2024