77-year-old law aspirant moves Supreme Court challenging age limit to pursue LLB degree

A 77-year-old woman who aspires to pursue her law degree has moved to the Supreme Court challenging the rules of legal education and the BCI which has set the limit for admission in a 3-year LLB course at 30 years and 5-year course at 20 years of age.

After being denied admission to pursue a three-year LLB course, Rajkumari Tyagi, a resident of Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh, moved a plea seeking the apex court’s intervention in a case which is already pending on the issue challenging the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) rule.

The plea stated that Tyagi developed a passion to study law after she was left alone to defend the estate of her late husband. It says that she had to deal with legal problems without resorting to a lawyer at any point while handling the will or identification of records.

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'BCI rules violate constitutional rights'

The plea claims that the BCI rules violate Articles 14 (equality before the law), 19(1)(g) (Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business) and 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

She has urged the apex court to declare that she has a fundamental right to pursue a legal education in a college or institution of her choice and that the right is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

'It has been laid down (by the Supreme Court) that Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution, is not limited to mere 'animalistic existence' but also includes right to live with dignity which includes facilities for reading and writing and the right to receive instructions in a course/medium of one's choice,' the plea says

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(Image credits: PTI)