Verdict out on Bar exam: ‘Tough,not enough time’

After a discussion about the questions,senior advocate Ahmedkhan Pathan,member of Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa from Pune,agreed it was a difficult paper. He said it was tougher than the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) exam conducted for lawyers aspiring to be magistrates.

Most candidates from Pune had Tilak Vidyalaya in Vile Parle as the exam centre.

“There were no problems at the exam centre but getting there itself was a problem for candidates. Some had arrived in Mumbai a day earlier and had spent the night at the railway station,” said A R Sathyan,a 65-year-old,retired Income Tax officer who appeared for the AIBE,conducted for the first time.

The exam intends to set a benchmark for lawyers to practise their profession.

Pathan said a minimum score of 40 per cent is needed to clear the exam. The Bar Council of India (BCI) would convey whether a candidate cleared the exam or flunked it,not their actual scores. “Those who could not appear this time for some reason may continue to practise provisionally and appear for the next attempt,” Pathan added.

The BCI had demanded an undertaking from law graduated that they would practise law provisionally until they clear the exam in this attempt,or else will not practise until they qualify in a subsequent attempt.