The Bar Council of India (BCI) has extended the validity of results for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). This means law graduates who passed the AIBE now have more time to complete their registration process and become lawyers. The validity has been extended until March 31, 2026 . This important decision came after two law graduates filed a special request with the Karnataka High Court, complaining about delays in their ability to register as advocates.
The All India Bar Examination (AIBE) is a very important test for anyone who has finished their law degree and wants to practice law in India. Passing the AIBE is a compulsory step. It allows law graduates to then register with their respective State Bar Council. Only after registering with a State Bar Council can a person officially start working as a lawyer or advocate in Indian courts. Without this registration, they cannot legally represent clients.
Many students faced difficulties because the results of their AIBE exams had a limited validity period. This meant that if they could not complete all the other necessary paperwork and official steps with their State Bar Council before their AIBE result validity expired, their exam pass would become useless. This situation caused significant stress and stopped many qualified law graduates from starting their careers on time.
The problem became clear when two law graduates approached the Karnataka High Court. They told the court that they had passed the AIBE but were facing unexpected delays in getting their names registered as lawyers. These delays were often due to various administrative reasons at the State Bar Council level. Because of these delays, their AIBE results were about to expire, preventing them from practicing law.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj of the Karnataka High Court heard the case. During the proceedings, it was announced that the Bar Council of India had looked into the difficulties faced by these students and many others like them. The BCI understood that students should not suffer due to administrative delays outside their control. Therefore, the BCI decided it was fair and necessary to extend the validity of the AIBE results.
The High Court confirmed that the BCI's decision will greatly help all those students across the country who have passed the AIBE but are still waiting to complete the various official steps with their State Bar Councils. This includes students dealing with the Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC) and others. The extension till March 31, 2026 , gives everyone enough time to finish their registration process without worrying about their AIBE result expiring.
Another Issue: Document Verification Fee
Apart from the AIBE result validity, the law graduates who filed the case also raised another concern. They asked the High Court to order the Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC) to process their lawyer registration applications without an additional charge. They specifically requested a refund for a INR 2,500 fee for document verification, claiming that this fee was not allowed under the Advocates Act, which governs lawyers in India.
However, the Karnataka High Court did not pass any judgment or order regarding this INR 2,500 document verification fee. The court noted that a similar challenge against this specific fee is already being heard by the Supreme Court of India. This case in the Supreme Court is listed as WP No. 352/2023 . Since the highest court in the country is already looking into this matter, the Karnataka High Court decided not to issue a separate ruling on the fee at this time.
