Apropos to the recent notification of the Bar Council of India to abolish one year LLM courses in India, a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the same.
The petitioner, Ms. Tamanna Chandan, who is a law student, has challenged the new Bar Council of India Legal Education (Post Graduate, Doctoral, Executive, Vocational, Clinical and other Continuing Education) Rules, 2020 as being in violation of her fundamental right to education.
Filed through Advocate Rahul Bhandari, the petition also asserts that the said Rules are in violation of the provisions of Advocates Act, 1961.
“The amendments made by the Rules,” as per the petitioner, “are in violation of her right to practice profession under the Constitution of India and there is no reasonable justification on the part of BCI to abolish the 1 year LLM course.”
Another argument raised in the petition is regarding the absence of power with the BCI in regulating the rules of higher legal education in India as the same rests within the jurisdiction of University Grants Commission (UGC).
ABOUT THE BCI NOTIFICATION
The recently announced new Bar Council of India Legal Education (Post Graduate, Doctoral, Executive, Vocational, Clinical and other Continuing Education) Rules, 2020, seeks to abolish One-year Master Degree in Law (LL.M.) in India.
The new rule states that a Master Degree Program in Law of one-year duration introduced in India in 2013 (as per notification) by the University Grants Commission shall remain operative and valid until the completion of the Academic Session in which these Regulations are notified and implemented but not thereafter at any University throughout the country. These Rules shall come into force from the date notified by the Bar Council of India.
According to the new rules, the post-graduate course in law leading to Master degree, in short, LL.M. has to be of two years’ duration that should spread over four semesters. Furthermore, LL.M. course is to be restricted to only graduates in law.