High Court seeks BCI response over no AIBE centres in Nagaland, as students forced to travel outside state
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KOHIMA — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has issued a notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) over the absence of All India Bar Examination (AIBE) centres in Nagaland, while keeping the matter open for further orders.
The notice was issued in connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by practising advocates seeking directions to the BCI to establish an examination centre in Nagaland, enabling law students and graduates in the state to appear for the AIBE.
In its order dated April 29, the court noted that the AIBE 2026 is scheduled to be held on June 7.
While stating that no interim order had been passed at this stage, the court added that it could issue directions at a subsequent hearing requiring the BCI to allow candidates from Nagaland to reschedule their examination at a centre within the state.
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The court granted time to the BCI to file its affidavit-in-opposition or make submissions in response to the prayers made in the writ petition.
The petitioner submitted that several candidates from Nagaland intend to appear for the AIBE and sought a direction to the respondents to establish examination centres within the state. It was further pointed out that the last date for submission of applications and registration closed on April 30.
The petitioner stated that in the absence of an interim order, candidates who had registered would be required to appear for the examination at centres outside Nagaland.
In an earlier submission, counsel for the petitioners, Toshi O Longkumer, informed the court that while the AIBE is conducted in more than 56 cities across 399 centres in India, Nagaland has never had an examination centre. Other northeastern states, including Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, have centres within their respective states.
The petitioners have sought directions to the BCI to establish a permanent AIBE examination centre in Nagaland, preferably in Kohima or Dimapur, before the upcoming June 7 examination, and to include the state in the list of centres for all future examinations.