Kerala High Court Directs BCI to Approve Two Seats for Transgender Students in All Law Colleges

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 V.G. Arun issued the interim order while hearing a petition seeking to expedite the decision on the proposal, which had been pending before the BCI. The court noted that the issue could not be kept waiting indefinitely for the Council to act.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court that the BCI had earlier been directed to finalise a date for its General Council meeting to decide on the matter. However, the BCI’s standing counsel told the court that the proposal had been placed before the Standing Committee for Legal Education, which, after deliberation, decided that the final decision must be taken by the General Council. The standing counsel also said it was not possible to specify when the next General Council meeting would be held.

Taking note of the delay, Justice Arun remarked, “In my opinion, the issue cannot wait endlessly for the General Council of the Bar Council to meet.” Accordingly, the court issued an interim direction to the BCI to approve the Kerala government’s request, communicated through a letter dated August 6, for the creation of two seats for transgender students in all law colleges across the state.

The court also ordered that approval be granted within ten days of receiving a copy of the order.

The directive came while hearing a petition filed by a transgender woman who was denied admission to Government Law College, Kozhikode, despite qualifying in the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations’ Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) 2025. The petitioner referred to the landmark NALSA v. Union of India judgment and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, in support of her plea.