Punjab Bar Council suspends 777 lawyers over Law GAT failure

The Punjab Bar Council (PBC) has suspended the licences of 777 lawyers who failed to clear the mandatory Law Graduate Assessment Test (Law GAT) despite being granted additional time to qualify.

In a statement, the council said the affected lawyers had not passed the Law GAT, leading to the suspension of their licences.

The PBC explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, around 3,400 lawyers were granted licences without taking the Law GAT following directives issued by the Lahore High Court.

However, the council later required all such lawyers to pass the examination between 2022 and 2023 to retain their licences.

According to the council, a large number of the 3,400 lawyers subsequently passed the Law GAT and submitted their result cards.

However, 777 lawyers have still not qualified, prompting the suspension of their practising licences.

The Punjab Bar Council further stated that the record of the suspended lawyers is being forwarded to all district and sessions judges as well as relevant bar associations for implementation of the decision.