Kerala High Court Revises 2026 Internship Policy, Restricts Eligibility to Final Two Years of LL.B
The Kerala High Court has revised its internship policy for 2026, bringing in new rules on who can apply, how applications are processed, attendance and the conduct of law students interning at the High Court.
The amended policy, titled 'Internship Policy for the High Court of Kerala-2026 (Amended),' was notified on October 17. Under Clause 6(a), only students in the last two years of their law courses are eligible to intern at the High Court. This restriction does not apply to internships allowed at the discretion of judges.
The policy covers law students interning under High Court judges as well as other sections of the Court. It also applies to offices including those of the Advocate General, Additional Solicitor General, Director General of Prosecution, Deputy Solicitor General, Kerala State Legal Services Authority, Mediation Centre, Bar Council of Kerala and other advocates. For internships under judges, applications will be processed only after their consent is obtained.
Students will have to submit internship applications through an online module to be developed by the High Court. Until that module is ready, applications and other internship-related procedures will continue to be handled online. Applications must be forwarded through the principal or head of the institution where the student is studying. The High Court's Public Relations Officer (PRO) will oversee the internship programme, including processing applications and keeping attendance records.
Interns are barred from using mobile phones, cameras or recording devices inside courtrooms. Recording court proceedings in any manner, or circulating such recordings on social media in a way that compromises the Court's security, will lead to immediate termination of the internship. Interns must also maintain confidentiality and avoid disturbing court proceedings.
Attendance has to be recorded daily, and only the actual number of days an intern is physically present in the Court will count as the internship period for issuing internship certificates.
Source: Barandbench