Kerala High Court stays order permitting nuns and priests to practice legal profession

Thiruvananthapuram – The division bench of the Kerala High Court has stayed the order of a single judge bench that permitted nuns and priests to practice legal profession.

On November 7, a single judge bench of the Kerala High Court had overruled a decision by the state's Bar Association to deny priests and nuns the right to practice law (see ‘Priests, nuns not barred from legal practice, says Kerala High Court’ http://in.christiantoday.com/news/soc_241.htm). The single judge bench had ruled that members of a "religious profession" were not involved in "trade or business which generates income," noting that no one becomes a priest or nun "for employment and earning a living."

The state Bar Association had earlier debarred two nuns and a priest from practicing law because the association ruled their "religious professions" were incompatible with legal practice.

The high court's decision on January 9 has stayed the earlier judgment thus making it impossible for priests and nuns to practice as lawyers in Kerala, pending a legal appeal. More than 20 Catholic priests and nuns have already registered as lawyers in India.