'Legal Education Cannot Be Allowed To Be Regulated By Outsiders': BCI Opposes Higher Education Commission Of India Bill

The BCI has alleged that the Bill is aimed at abrogating the powers of the Bar, conferred upon it by the Advocates Act, 1961.

Under the Advocates Act, particularly under Section 6 and 7, the BCI is empowered to promote and lay down standards of Legal Education in India. The Bill however, seeks to deprive BCI of this power by handing over the powers relating to regulation of legal education to the proposed Higher Education Commission.

In a Resolution dated September 28, the Council had unanimously resolved that the proposed bill was an "attack and invasion" on the authority and independence of Bar. "Legal education cannot be allowed to be regulated by outsiders, social workers or the teachers", it said.

Accordingly, expressing their resistance, the Council resolved to send a 5 member delegation of BCI to meet the PM, and all other Union Ministers concerned to make them acquainted with their resentment and views of the Bar.

It further resolved that in case no positive response came forward from the Govt.'s side, the Council would undertake one day abstention of the courts throughout the country, on October 21.

The Council also communicated its grievances to the Prime Minister, vide letter dated September 30, and made suggestions therein which according to them should be made to Sections 1, 2, 26 and 31 of the Draft Bill; provisions which were contrary to the Advocates Act.

The letter read,

"the manner and the mode by which the provisions in the Advocates Act, 1961 are being sought to be overridden by way of indirect and almost backdoor insertion into the body of this draft is totally unacceptable to us."

It submitted that it had a robust Statutory Legal Education Committee and that no other body could be more competent or efficient for regulation of legal education.

"Council has a very sound Statutory legal education committee, which is headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court of india and consists of two sitting chief justices of High Courts, several sitting and former judges of different High Courts, three Vice- Chancellors of National Law Universities, noted academicians and Secretary, Legal Department to take care of standard and regulation of legal education in India," the press release read.

Considerably, the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India are its ex-officio Members and Chairman of UGC and 5 members of BCI and 4 members of State Bar Councils are also its members.

The Council submitted that the law makers were well aware that "Professional Legal Education and General Higher Education have to be kept in two separate frames and the authorities/bodies stipulating and laying down the standards of such education have to be separate too.

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The experts had realized that the regulation of legal education upto graduate level (which qualifies the law graduate to become an Advocate) should be the sole domain of the Bar Councils".

Letters were also written to the Union Home Minister and all other Union Ministers, explaining the detailed reasons for their opposition to inclusion of legal education in the bill.

In its letter, the BCI also reminded the PM of a similar bill which was introduced by then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in 2012, which was widely opposed by the legal fraternity, culminating into withdrawal of the Bill.

Cautioning the legislature of similar consequences, the BCI further resolved in its meeting dated September 28 that if their grievances were left unheard, the Council would take out huge protest rallies in all capital cities, including Delhi, on November 8 and shall Gherao the Parliament in its winter session if the bill was moved without excluding the Advocate's Act from its ambit.

The Council has also called for a Joint meeting of all the State Bar Councils in the BCI premises at Delhi on October 12.

Download the Press Release Here