SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has made qualifying the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) mandatory for law graduates enrolled as advocates from the academic year 2009-10 onwards, directing those who have not cleared the examination to do so in accordance with the Bar Council of India rules.
In a notification issued on October 10, 2026, the High Court said all law graduates enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh who graduated in the academic year 2009-10 or later must qualify the AIBE if they have not already done so.
The notification also stipulates that fresh law graduates and advocates enrolled provisionally will be granted an absolute certificate of enrolment only after qualifying the examination and producing the Certificate of Practice (COP) issued by the Bar Council of India within two years.
The High Court has separately directed advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after July 1, 2010, who have already qualified the AIBE, to submit copies of their Certificates of Practice to the High Court Registry within one month from the date of issuance of the notification.
The notification implements Rules 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter III, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules governing the All India Bar Examination. Under these provisions, advocates enrolled under Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961, who fall within the applicable examination requirements cannot practise under Chapter IV of the Act unless they successfully clear the examination.
The AIBE tests advocates in substantive and procedural law and is conducted by the Bar Council of India. The rules provide for the examination to be held at least twice a year, with the syllabus and examination requirements determined by the Bar Council of India.
Advocates who fail the examination may reappear without any limit on the number of attempts. Those who pass are entitled to a Certificate of Practice, which the rules require the Bar Council of India to issue within 30 days of the declaration of results.
According to the notification, the matter was placed before Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh and referred to the High Court’s Rules Committee. The committee considered the matter at its meeting on August 19, 2026, and recommended implementing the AIBE rules across the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The recommendations were subsequently placed before the Full Court at its meeting on October 8, 2026, where they were approved.
The notification, issued by Registrar General M.K. Sharma, also amends the instructions and guidelines accompanying the application form for enrolment as an advocate, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Bar Council of India Rules and Section 57(b) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
The move brings the enrolment process for law graduates in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in line with the applicable AIBE requirements, reinforcing the examination as a prerequisite for obtaining the Certificate of Practice and, for those covered by the rules, practising law.
