03 April,2009 01:46 PM IST | | PTI
A lady constable has knocked the doors of the Bombay High Court challenging the decision of University of Mumbai and the Bar Council of India (BCI) to debar her from studying law on the ground that she was above the age of 30 years.
Shabnam Amin Mulani, mother of two and sole bread earning member in the family, had enrolled for the three-year LLB degree course to seek admission in any city college affiliated to University of Mumbai for the next admission year.
However, the Chairman, Board of Studies in Law, University of Mumbai, informed her in a letter that she could not get admission as she was above the age of 30 years - stipulated in the Bar Council of India rules framed last year.
Mulani has filed a writ petition contending that the BCI rule prescribing age limit was discriminatory and violative of the constitution as it infringed on her fundamental right to education.
Her lawyer, Mahesh Vaswani, said the petition has questioned the decision of the BCI and the University of Bombay to prescribe the age limit when no such age restriction has been prescribed for any other course be it engineering, medicine, journalism or any other vocation.
The constable contended that her nature of job required to undertake investigative work on the basis of established legal principles that would stand the test of judicial scrutiny and also to deal with undertrials and convicted prisoners in custody.
Mulani submitted that the University had informed her in a letter on February 25 this year that the BCI rules, effective from 2009-2010, were obligatory on them and it would not be possible for them to give admission to those who have crossed 30 years age for the three-year LLB degree course and 20 years age for the five-year LLB course.
She contended that the BCI rules on age bar for LLB courses, framed in September 2008 under the Advocates Act, 1961, was violative of Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees equality to all.
The petitioner submitted that the BCI had exceeded its powers in prescribing the age limit and that this body should focus only on improving the standards of education in law.
A similar PIL is already pending before the High court. Mulani's petition would come up for hearing tomorrow before a division bench of the High Court.
