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Kochi, Oct 24 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to approve two seats for transgender students in all law colleges across the state.
Justice VG Arun issued the interim order while hearing a plea seeking expediting the decision on the proposal, which was pending before the BCI.
The court said that the matter cannot be made to wait indefinitely for the council’s action.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court that in the previous session, the BCI had been directed to fix a date for holding its general council meeting to decide on the matter.
However, the BCI standing counsel told the court that the proposal was placed before the Standing Committee for Legal Education, which after deliberations decided that the final decision should be taken by the General Council.
The standing counsel said it was not possible to say when the next meeting of the General Council would be held.
Noting this delay, Justice Arun remarked, “In my opinion, there cannot be an endless wait for the General Council meeting of the Bar Council to take up this issue.”
Accordingly, the court issued an interim direction to the BCI to approve the request of the Kerala government, communicated through a letter on August 6, to create two seats for transgender students in all law colleges in the state.
The court also directed that approval should be given within ten days of receiving the copy of the order.
The direction came while hearing a plea filed by a transgender woman who was denied admission to the Government Law College, Kozhikode, despite qualifying in the Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) 2025 by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations.
The petitioner also cited the landmark NALSA vs. Union of India judgment and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in support of its claim.
–IANS
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