Will pay fines ‘under protest’ to meet July 31 BCI approval deadline: Mumbai law colleges to Bombay HC

Law colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai will pay penalties “under protest” to avoid missing the Bar Council of India's (BCI) July 31 portal deadline, even as the Bombay High Court is set to examine next week whether those fines and 50% seat cuts are legally justified. [Shri Hari Educational Trust v. University of Mumbai & Ors]

Multiple unaided law colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai have moved writ petitions, including Mahatma Gandhi Missions Law College, Agnel School of Law, Gokhale Education Society’s Law College and Janta Shikshan Mandal’s Adv Datta Patil College of Law, among others. 

The petitions, listed together before a Bench of Justices RI Chagla and Farhan Dubash, arise from regulatory action taken by the University of Mumbai against several unaided law colleges.

The petitions raise a common grievance: last‑minute University action treating ‘non‑approval’ of teachers and principals as a deficiency and using that to cut seats by 50% and impose heavy fines just before the 2026–27 admission cycle. 

The colleges seek protection against the University’s decision to levy penalties of around ₹10 lakh per institution and reduce sanctioned intake by 50%, despite their claim that all faculty meet Bar Council of India eligibility norms. They want the court to ensure that admissions for 2026–27 are not jeopardised by sudden punitive measures.. 

Counsel for the colleges argued that all petitioning institutions have principals and teachers who are “eligible” under the BCI’s Legal Education Rules. However, the University treated the delayed approval as a deficiency even when the delay is attributable to its own processes. 

The lawyer relied on Bar Council norms permitting full‑time faculty from the Bar and retired judicial officers. It was stressed that these sector‑specific standards should prevail over rigid application of UGC criteria where colleges have already met the Bar Council’s minimum requirements.

The Bench was told that continuation of affiliation was sought in December 2025, but the University’s crucial communication reducing intake and imposing a ₹10 lakh penalty was issued only on July 20, 2026, days before the Bar Council’s July 31 portal deadline. 

Counsel for the University said that colleges give a statutory undertaking at the time of affiliation with a promise to appoint teachers strictly as per prescribed qualifications. The lawyer argued that non‑compliance over several years justifies regulatory action under the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, including disaffiliation.

The University claimed that many colleges did not issue proper all‑India advertisements in time. It argued that they also failed to constitute selection committees and send selection reports for approval, leading to prolonged gaps in compliance.

The University further contended that delayed or inadequate recruitment harms the quality of legal education. It said that this lets colleges underpay faculty on low consolidated salaries and not pay teachers on full pay‑commission scales. Because of this, it was necessary for it to step in.

The Bench, however, pressed the University to spell out clear timelines for processing advertisements and approvals, observing that institutions cannot be left with only a few days to comply before statutory cut‑off dates.

It noted that the BCI has fixed July 31 as the last date for uploading applications. The BCI also clarified that any request after that will be entertained only in exceptional cases. 

The colleges said that they would pay the university’s penalties “under protest” and accept the reduced intake so that Mumbai University can issue conditional affiliation immediately. They undertook to upload the necessary documents on the BCI portal by July 31 and pay the late fee.

The Court accepted these statements. It indicated that next week, it will examine whether the penalties and 50% seat cuts are lawful and whether the University’s timelines and procedure on affiliation and approvals are fair to colleges and students.