Bar Council orders nationwide inspection of law colleges, bars weekend and shift-based classes
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has directed all universities to physically inspect all affiliated and constituent law colleges under their jurisdiction and submit a
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has directed all universities to physically inspect all affiliated and constituent law colleges under their jurisdiction and submit a consolidated compliance report within six weeks. It has also ordered an end to weekend, evening and shift-based law programmes used to overcome shortages of classrooms, faculty and other infrastructure. In a circular issued on August 4, the BCI asked vice-chancellors, registrars and heads of law faculties to conduct comprehensive inspections before granting or continuing affiliation. “The object is not to disrupt genuine institutions or prejudice students, but to ensure that every law degree recognised for enrolment as an advocate is earned through real teaching, qualified full-time faculty, adequate infrastructure and meaningful practical training,” the circular said.
The directions follow a July 29 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in ‘All Saints Christian Education Society v. State of Andhra Pradesh’ case. The court held that universities have a continuing duty to ensure that law colleges comply with the minimum standards prescribed under the Rules of Legal Education. It also observed that universities could face statutory consequences for granting affiliation to institutions that fail to meet those standards. The BCI said law colleges cannot run courses through morning, evening, weekend, compressed or shift-based schedules to compensate for inadequate infrastructure. Such arrangements, it said, dilute the regular character of legal education and must stop immediately. Inspection teams have been asked to verify land records, classrooms, libraries, moot court halls, legal aid clinics, sports facilities and statutory clearances.
They must also examine faculty appointments, teacher-student ratios, attendance records, and whether a genuine academic environment is being maintained through physical verification of student attendance. The inspection team also have been directed to inspect original documents, and take geo-tagged photographs. Generic remarks such as “satisfactory” or “compliant” will not be accepted, the Council said. The inspections will also cover institutions’ minimum capital fund, with universities required to verify bank accounts, balances and utilisation through original banking records. The circular says universities should not grant repeated conditional affiliation to colleges with serious deficiencies. They should also not allow admissions unless an institution has both valid university affiliation and current BCI approval. The BCI has asked universities to complete the inspection exercise and submit a consolidated compliance report within six weeks.
The BriefWire