The Kerala High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI), reaffirming that the Kerala Bar Council ceased to exist in a legally valid form after its extended term ended in May 2024 — effectively stripping it of authority to pursue disciplinary proceedings.
The BCI’s plea sought to revisit a June 2025 judgment that had quashed a show-cause notice issued to Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) President Yeshwanth Shenoy. That ruling had found that no properly constituted State Bar Council existed to continue proceedings against him once the Council’s term expired.
The Bar Council’s term, initially ending in November 2023, had been temporarily extended by the BCI for six months. After May 6, 2024, the High Court noted, a special committee under Section 8A of the Advocates Act should have been formed to assume the Council’s functions — a step never taken. Without such a body, the Court held, the Council’s disciplinary jurisdiction evaporated.
Even an argument that the term could continue under Rule 32 of the BCI Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, found no favour with the Court. Those powers, it clarified, applied only to verification of lawyers’ credentials, not disciplinary matters.
In its review plea, the BCI contended that the observations could cripple the institutional framework of State Bar Councils, especially concerning their enrolment and disciplinary oversight. But the Bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar VM refused to reopen the issue, holding that a review petition cannot serve as a second round of arguments or an appeal disguised as correction.
“The scope of review cannot be expanded into an appeal. It is meant to correct a mistake — not to replace reasoning or re-argue settled matters,” the Court stated.
Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ajay Shankar Srivastava v. Bar Council of India, the Bench reiterated that forming committees for verification does not amount to extending the tenure of existing Bar Councils.
The dispute stemmed from a 2023 complaint and a subsequent show-cause notice against Shenoy following an exchange with then-Justice Mary Joseph. A single judge had initially upheld the disciplinary action, but a Division Bench overturned it in June 2025. The latest verdict seals that outcome, leaving the BCI with no further relief from the High Court.
