CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has set aside the three-year moratorium imposed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) on opening new legal institutions or law colleges. The HC has also advised the BCI, the apex body of lawyers in the country, “to focus on improving the standard of legal education in existing colleges, as entrants of legal profession are not up to mark in drafting cases and speaking the court’s language.”
“No doubt, the BCI can issue guidelines/circulars etc and press for compliance thereof as well as 2008 Rules either at the grant of approval to a new college or adherence thereof by the colleges/institutes for legal education already existing throughout the country but under that pretext it cannot impose a complete ban on opening of new institutes,” Justice Rekha Mittal observed.
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The high court also asked the BCI to examine the creation of a portal or nodal agency to ensure compliance of the BCI instructions, guidelines, 2008 Rules etc by the centers of legal education.
The HC passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Chandigarh Education Society, which wanted to open a law college at Jhanjheri in Punjab’s Mohali district. The petitioner society had sought directions to set aside the resolution dated August 11, 2019 passed by the BCI vide which moratorium was imposed for three years for grant of approval to new law institutes. It also sought to establish a new law college at Jhanjheri for which it has already received a noobjection certificate and permission from the concerned university as well as the state government.
The petitioner society contended that the council had no power under Section 7(1)(h) of the Advocates Act, 1961 to ban new law colleges from being established. The council can only lay down the standard of education that the new law colleges have to follow but cannot impose a ban on opening of new law colleges.
Strongly contesting the plea, the BCI argued that the moratorium was only imposed in the interest of improving the standards of the existing legal educatio1n institutes and the council is within its rights to impose such conditions.
“Before parting with this order, I would like to express that the BCI should seriously dilate on the issue of maintaining the standard of legal education. Many new entrants in the legal profession are not up to the mark in drafting petitions or assisting the court. Some of them are not confident enough to speak court language. The BCI may take steps to ensure practical training to law students in its real meaning and sense,” said Justice Rekha Mittal.