Kerala High Court has ordered the Bar Council of India to create two additional seats for transgender students in all government law colleges within 10 days. The move aims to ensure fair representation and implement constitutional rights for transgender candidates in legal education.
Kochi: Kerala High Court has directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to approve the addition of two more seats for transgender students in all Government Law Colleges across the State. The court passed this interim order to ensure that transgender students get proper representation in legal education in Kerala.
Justice VG Arun, hearing the matter, ordered the creation of these additional seats within 10 days of receiving the court order. The decision came after a transgender student filed a plea requesting reservation and a separate rank list specifically for transgender persons in government law colleges across Kerala.
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During the hearing, BCI’s counsel informed the court that its General Council had not yet convened to decide on the issue.
However, the court observed that “the matter cannot wait endlessly” and emphasized the urgency of the situation. The judge directed BCI to approve the Kerala Government’s request, dated 6.08.2025, for the creation of the additional seats within 10 days.
The court also mentioned that the matter will be listed again after 10 days to verify compliance with the order.
This ruling is a significant step toward inclusivity in higher education, especially in professional courses like law, and ensures that transgender students are given fair opportunities in government institutions.
Background of the Case
This order comes in the backdrop of a petition filed by a transgender student seeking reservation and a separate rank list for transgender candidates in government law colleges across Kerala.
The petitioner, a transgender woman, had applied for admission to the integrated five-year LLB course through the Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) 2025.
Although she qualified and her name was included in the KLEE rank list, she was denied admission to Government Law College, Kozhikode, as no separate category or seat existed for transgender candidates in the central allotment list issued by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CCE).
The petitioner argued that denying her admission under the transgender category violated her fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India.
She also cited the Supreme Court’s directions in the NALSA judgment and the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
She requested the court to direct authorities to grant her admission for the 2025-2026 academic year under the transgender reservation category and to implement similar reservation in all government law colleges and other educational institutions under government control.
Court Hearing and Key Observations
During an earlier hearing, Justice N Nagaresh pointed out that many other educational institutions already have reservations for transgender students and questioned why law colleges could not follow the same practice.
The judge asked,
“If in engineering and medical colleges, reservation can be given, why not for law colleges?”
The BCI’s standing counsel, Rajit, explained that most law colleges in Kerala currently have only about 40 seats, making it difficult to allocate specific seats for transgender students.
However, the court urged the BCI to consider issuing a directive to provide some seats for transgender candidates. Justice Nagaresh further suggested,
“Rajit, you prevail upon them, you say otherwise an adverse order will come. If everywhere else it can be done, why should Bar Council be adamant? … You can pass an order stating that this year you are giving the additional seats; next year, the seats will be within the 40-seat limit.”
Kerala Government’s Role
The Kerala State Government had already written to the BCI seeking permission to create two additional seats for transgender students.
The court’s order noted,
“The government pleader submits that the government, in principle, has decided to provide two supernumerary post in all colleges for admitting the candidates belonging to transgender category. This requires approval of the specialised body and the government of Kerala has addressed a letter to the Bar Council of India seeking permission to create 2 additional seats in each law college. No reply has been received so far. Standing counsel for BCI to get instructions. Post on 16 October.”
During the latest hearing, BCI’s counsel stated that its General Council had not yet met to decide on the issue.
However, the court emphasized that “the matter cannot wait endlessly” and directed BCI to approve the Kerala Government’s request, dated 6.08.2025, for seat creation within 10 days. The matter is scheduled to be posted again after 10 days to verify compliance with the court order.
Case Title:
Esai Clara v State of Kerala
WP(C) 30999/ 2025
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