Religious vocation and advocate enrolment: Kerala HC held the enrolment bar applies only to gainful, remunerative engagement.

Rule 2(h) of the Bar Council of Kerala Rules, 1979 was construed as barring enrolment only where an applicant is actually engaged in full-time or part-time employment, service, trade, business, or a gainful profession. The Kerala HC held that a religious vocation is not disqualifying unless it is pursued in a remunerative or profit-making sense. On the facts, the priests and nuns were living only on maintenance allowance and were not shown to hold an office of profit or earn income from such vocation, so the enrolment bar did not apply and their enrolment as advocates was upheld.

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Issues: Whether priests and nuns, who are not in full or part-time employment and are living only on subsistence or maintenance allowance, are hit by the bar in Rule 2(h) of the Bar Council of Kerala Rules, 1979 so as to be ineligible for enrolment as advocates.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Sections 24, 24A, 26 and 28 of the Advocates Act, 1961 permits enrolment of persons who satisfy the prescribed qualifications and do not attract a statutory disqualification. Rule 2(h) of the Bar Council of Kerala Rules, 1979 requires a declaration that the applicant is not in full or part-time employment or service and is not engaged in any trade, business or profession. The crucial expression was construed as referring to gainful engagement, not merely to the religious vocation itself. The Court held that while religion or divinity may be described as a profession in a broad sense, the bar operates only where the applicant is actually engaged in such vocation in a remunerative or profit-making sense. On the facts, the priests and nuns were not shown to be earning income or holding any office of profit and were only sustaining themselves by maintenance allowance.

Conclusion: The bar in Rule 2(h) did not apply to the applicants on the facts proved, and they were entitled to enrolment as advocates.

Final Conclusion: The appeals challenging the grant of enrolment were dismissed, and the right of the concerned priests and nuns to seek enrolment was upheld on the factual finding that they were not engaged in a remunerative profession of religion.

Ratio Decidendi: A vocational or religious calling does not attract a rule barring enrolment as an advocate unless the applicant is actually engaged in a gainful trade, business or profession within the meaning of the enrolment rule.

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