Why the BCI has ordered a nationwide inspection of law colleges? | Explained

Published 7 August 2026 · india

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has directed universities across the country to physically inspect all affiliated and constituent law colleges and submit compliance reports

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has directed universities across the country to physically inspect all affiliated and constituent law colleges and submit compliance reports within six weeks. It has also asked universities to identify and discontinue impermissible weekend, evening and shift-based law programmes that, according to the regulator, dilute the mandatory character of a regular law course. The move marks the latest step in the BCI’s long-running effort to improve the quality of legal education in India. Why has the BCI intervened now? In July, the Supreme Court made strong oral observations concerning the quality of institutions imparting legal education and the continuing operation of deficient law colleges. The BCI also took note of the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s July 29 judgment in All Saints Christian Education Society v. State of Andhra Pradesh, which reaffirmed that universities have a continuing duty to ensure that affiliated law colleges comply with the rules of legal education. Following these developments, the BCI’s Standing Committee on Legal Education decided that universities should undertake fresh physical inspections of every law college under their jurisdiction. Why has the quality of legal education become a concern? Over the past decade, the BCI, the apex statutory regulator of the legal profession and legal education in the country, has repeatedly expressed concern over what it describes as a steady decline in the quality of legal education in India.

It has attributed this to the rapid proliferation of “unchecked and mushrooming growth of sub-standard” law colleges and Centres of Legal Education (CLEs). The regulator blamed it on the indiscriminate grant of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) by State governments and affiliations by universities, often without adequate scrutiny. Under the existing framework, a proposed law college must first obtain an NOC from the State government and affiliation from the university concerned. Only then does the BCI conduct its own inspection before granting approval. The Council has also highlighted an acute shortage of qualified law teachers, saying that 40-50% of faculty positions remain vacant in more than 60% of government law colleges. It has further pointed to inadequate libraries, moot courts and research facilities, along with weak academic oversight, as factors contributing to the decline in educational standards. How has the BCI tried to address the problem? In 2016, the BCI urged State governments and universities to stop approving new law colleges. Three years later, it imposed a three-year moratorium on new Centres of Legal Education, citing falling academic standards. The moratorium was subsequently set aside by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In August last year, the Council again introduced a three-year moratorium on new Centres of Legal Education. However, in March this year, BCI withdrew the August 2025 moratorium and shifted its approach to an inspection-based framework.