New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday said the Delhi Bar Council cannot impose a rule barring law graduates above 45 years from enrolling for practising legal profession in the capital's courts.

While disposing of a petition challenging the bar council's decision, a bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen said the lawyers' body had withdrawn the circular and therefore the decision could not be implemented.

Council chairman K.K. Manan appearing in person submitted a copy of the circular before the bench.

"All the members are of the unanimous view that the rule made on July 21, 2006 that a member above the age of 45 years will not be enrolled as an advocate is now scrapped with immediate effect. All the members are free to be enrolled to pursue legal profession," said the circular.

A group of law students had filed a petition before the high court challenging the bar council's decision saying it infringed upon their fundamental rights and discriminated against people above 45 years of age.

"This rule not only prohibited those people who wanted to join the legal profession after retirement, but put a blanket ban on all those who had attained the age of 45 years and were otherwise qualified to be enrolled as advocates," the petition said.

The petitioners also questioned the power of the bar council to introduce such a rule and said neither the Bar Council of India nor the state bar council had the power to make a rule to debar people above 45 years from getting registered as lawyers if they were otherwise qualified.

The court was informed that the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu had also introduced an upper age limit for registration as lawyer, but the rule was struck down by the Madras High Court. IANS