MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday issued notice to the union and state governments on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction to include Madurai and Tirunelveli as additional examination centres for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) in Tamil Nadu.
The litigant K Pushpavanam, an advocate from Madurai, submitted that when he applied for the examination, which was held on February 5, 2023, he was provided with only three options -- Tiruchy, Chennai and Coimbatore -- while choosing exam centres.
Citing that Madurai is a centre point for all southern districts in the state, he claimed that the exclusion of Madurai from the list of exam centres for AIBE has caused undue hardships to the applicants hailing from southern districts as they had to spend more money on travel and accommodation. The application cost for the examination is also Rs 3,500 (Rs 2,500 for SC/ST candidates), which is much higher than several other competitive examinations conducted by the government, he added.
Due to this, many applicants who came from southern districts like Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli slept at the railway station due to financial difficulties and inadequate rooms in Tiruchy district during the exam day, he further claimed and sought the above direction.
A Bench of justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case to April 10. AIBE is a national-level examination conducted by the Bar Council of India (BCI) through which law graduates can secure a 'Certificate of Practice'.