No renewal until physical inspection, report on facilities in law colleges: BCI to universities

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has directed all universities imparting legal education to physically inspect every law college under them and submit compliance reports within 6 weeks.

The direction was passed in a circular dated July 23 signed by signed by BCI Principal Secretary Srimanto Sen. It is addressed to Vice-Chancellors (VCs) and Registrars of universities across the country as well as deans and heads of law faculties, departments and schools.

As per the circular, BCI has taken serious note of strong oral observations made by the Supreme Court during the hearing of KR Sudersan v. Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. It describes these as concerning the quality of institutions that impart legal education and the continuing operation of deficient law colleges.

The hearing took place on July 20. It was about whether a law graduate can be denied enrolment as an advocate solely because a criminal case against them is pending. During this hearing, BCI's counsel argued that there was a bigger concern regarding the enrolment of individuals with pending criminal cases.

However, a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and R Mahadevan stated that the BCI's real concern ought to be law colleges "that are operating out of garages."

The BCI circular directs that universities must physically inspect every Centre of Legal Education (CLE) under them rather than rely on affidavits or paperwork since their responsibility does not end at affiliation.

Inspection teams are to verify faculty strength, classrooms, the library, moot court facilities and fire safety. They are to confirm that faculty are actually present and paid through banking channels since Rule 17 of Rules of Legal Education, 2008 bars part-time or visiting staff from substituting for full-time core faculty.

Universities are also to check whether any of their law colleges are quietly running weekend or evening batches for working students, since the rules only recognise full-time courses of at least 5 hours a day and 30 hours a week. Any such shortcut must be stopped immediately, with no new admissions to it.

Deficient CLEs are not to have affiliation renewed routinely. Universities must move to withdraw it and report serious deficiencies to the BCI. They must also confirm every CLE holds current BCI approval, since affiliation is not a substitute for it under Rule 14.

Universities have 6 weeks to finish the inspections and send back one combined report, sorting every law college into 3 groups - fully compliant, deficient but fixable, or seriously deficient and needing to be shut down or denied renewal. Until it gets these reports, the BCI will hold back approval renewals, it has said.

Universities also have 3 working days to write back confirming they got the letter, name an officer in charge and list all their CLEs. If a university misses the 6-week deadline, the matter will go to a committee that can take action against it.

[Read Circular]