Doctors Cannot Enrol as Advocates Without Cancelling Medical Registration: Kerala High Court

Kerala High Court held that a registered medical practitioner cannot be admitted to the Bar unless their registration with the medical council is formally cancelled.

The Court upheld the Bar Council of Kerala's decision to deny enrolment to a homeopathic doctor, stating that the legal profession demands undivided commitment.

The Court observed that the legal profession is a "jealous mistress" and a professional cannot divide allegiance between two distinct fields.

Clarifying that merely closing a clinic or submitting an undertaking not to practice medicine is insufficient as long as the applicant legally retains the statutory right to practice under the medical register.

[TM Manju v. Bar Council of Kerala & Ors.]