GLC Mumbai clears pending BCI dues; Establishes Governing Council headed by Justice DY Chandrachud

The students of Government Law College, Mumbai (GLC) faced an odd situation when applying for their provisional sanad at the State Bar Council – they were told that their college had failed to clear dues pending before the Bar Council of India (BCI). The dues relate to non-payment of “affiliation fees” amounting to Rs. 3 lakh.

Explains GLC student Raman Mishra, who had filed his application before the State Bar Council. “They asked me whether I was from GLC”, says Mishra, “and when I said yes, they marked the form with a star. They did the same thing with the forms submitted by other GLC students.” Mishra was told that since his college had not cleared the pending dues, the BCI had instructed the State Bar Council to mark the GLC forms and place them in a separate category.

Non-payment would mean that GLC students would not be given a provisional sanad or enrollment number, something required for all those sitting for the All India Bar Examination, which is to be held on August 25. If GLC did not clear the dues soon, the students would have to wait till the next AIBE was held. Mishra brought this to the notice of the GLC student body, and was told that GLC’s Principal had already spoken to the BCI about this matter.

Meanwhile, the State Bar Council is to convene this Saturday and is expected to issue the provisional sanad and enrollment numbers.

Earlier today, GLC’s Principal Judge RB Malik told Bar & Bench that the pending dues would be paid in the course of the day, albeit under protest. “It is our contention that we should be granted an exemption”, said Malik but the payment was made to ensure that “our students do not face any difficulty.”

Malik also confirmed that a Governing Council had been established to oversee the functioning of the college. The council is headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, the senior-most pusine judge of the Bombay High Court, who was nominated by the Chief Justice of the High Court. Other members of the council include Senior Advocate Rafique Dada, State Advocate General Darius Khambatta (who was recently in the news for his offer to resign) as well as the senior bureaucrats.

Speaking about the council, Malik said that this was a welcome step forward, and believed that with the judiciary taking charge, “unwelcome interference” would be minimized. He also said that the eventual goal is to have GLC function as an autonomous, independent institute. With regard to the financial crunch, Malik said that things were now much better, as was evident from the renovated administration block.