Bar council written exam likely in Sept

Since July 7, around 400 candidates have been demonstrating on the premises of Sonali Bank adjacent to the Supreme Court, demanding yearly enrolment of applicants in district courts, and enlistment of those who have passed the MCQ exams of 2017 and 2020 into the bar council.

Meanwhile, the bar council enrolment committee at a meeting on Saturday decided to take the written exam in September.

Ainul Islam Bishal, convener of Bangladesh Apprentice Lawyers' Association, said, "There is already a huge backlog. Hence our request was to enlist the 12,878 apprentice lawyers [into the bar council], who passed the MCQ exam in 2017 and 2020."

Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, vice chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council, on Saturday said they have decided to hold the written part of the exam in September. "We discussed this in a virtual meeting. I cannot give an exact date yet as there is still a lot to be discussed -- exam halls must be arranged and we have to speak with educational institutions about this," he said.

The five-member committee consists of one judge from the Appellate Division, two judges of the High Court Division, the attorney general and a member of the bar council.

The protesters, however, said they are not convinced with this promise. Rather, they think that this is just an excuse to disperse them from the SC premises, said Ainul Islam Bishal.

The council's enrolment exams are supposed to be held every year in three steps -- one multiple choice question exam, one written exam and finally a viva voce.

The last time this process was completed in its entirety was in 2017, and no yearly enrolment was done in the last two years. In February 2020, the council held an MCQ exam but no word on the subsequent exams was heard till Saturday. Those who pass the MCQ exam can get two chances to pass the written exams.

The Appellate Division directed in 2017 that there should be yearly enrolment of applicants in district courts.

HUNGER STRIKE

During the protests, at least 10 people were on hunger strike. Afsana Mimi, an apprentice at Barishal district and session judge's court, came to Dhaka with 13 of her fellows to join the protest on July 7.

Mimi and her friend Hazera Akter had to be taken to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital on July 9 after their blood sugar level fell due to their hunger strike.

Like Afsana and Hazera, nearly 400 candidates joined the protests. Afsana had completed her LLB from Barishal Law College in 2014, and she passed the MCQ exam 2017. She failed the written exam, and since then, she has had no other chance to get enlisted.

"I was supposed to get another try at the written exam in 2018, but that didn't happen. Now we're in the year 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, and the future seems even more uncertain," she said.

Afsana has been working under a senior lawyer and she earns a meagre Tk 100-300 per day, depending on the generosity of her seniors.

On the process of bar council enlistment, Advocate Ram Chandra Das of Dhaka Judge Court said the system in India is more efficient. "Since 2011, they [Indian bar council] started a one-step process of giving license to lawyers through a three-and-a-half-hour long, open book, analytical MCQ exam of 100 marks, where the pass mark is 40," he explained.