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 A Catholic nun, who is a law graduate, is not eligible to become a lawyer in Kerala, the most literate state in India.
The Bar Council of Kerala says its rules do not allow people like priests, nuns and sanyasis engaged in religious activities to become advocates. However Sr Teena Jose is determined to legally fight the Bar Council's decision, which she says "is discriminatory and arbitrary." "I will fight it out. In India, every citizen has a right to take up any profession. I cannot be denied permission to become a lawyer only because I am a nun," Sr Teena, belonging to the Kerala-based Congregation of Mother Carmel, says. The nun's struggle for what she calls "professional justice" began when the Bar Council of Kerala rejected her enrolment application early this year, ruling that as a religious person, she is engaged in another profession and thus cannot enroll as a lawyer. Sr Teena, a law graduate from Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, argued before the Bar Council's enrolment committee that she was not engaged in a salaried job or profession, and that she was simply following a religious lifestyle. Hurt by the Bar Council's decision, Sr Teena filed a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking its intervention in the matter, arguing that the Council's decision is "illegal, arbitrary and an infringement of the Constitution of India. "Justice K Balakrishnan Nair, who heard her plea, asked Sr Teena to implead the Bar Council of India also in the case. Following this, the nun forwarded her application to the Bar Council of India. Her lawyer Wilson Urmese says it is shocking the Bar Council of Kerala has refused to allow the nun to become a lawyer. “There are many priests and nuns across India who are enrolled as lawyers. Our case is very strong and I am sure the Bar Council of India will hear our plea," he says. He says the Bar Council's Advocates Act or Rules do not impose restrictions on nuns or other religious persons becoming lawyers. Bar Council of Kerala chairperson KB Mohandas says a selection and enrolment committee scrutinises all applicants. Asked if rules prohibit religious persons from becoming a lawyer, he says he will not comment on the matter as it is sub judice. "Generally all the rejected applications for enrolments are forwarded to the Bar Council of India for approval. Since the nun has filed a case, her case has also gone to the BCI," Mohandas adds.
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