Gujarat High Court Halts Admissions At Eight Law Colleges Lacking BCI Approval

The Gujarat High Court has halted the admission process for LLB courses at eight law colleges in the state that have not received approval from the Bar Council of India (BCI). The court directed the BCI to conduct inspections of these colleges, which is a prerequisite for granting approval.

Justice Vimal K Vyas, presiding over the case, noted, “Considering the provisions of Rules 2008 and considering the judgment of the Apex Court in case of Bar Council of India vs. Bonnie FOI Law College and others [Civil Appeal No.969 of 2023 arising out of SLP (C) No.22337 of 2008], it now becomes clear that the Universities or the State cannot allot the students to colleges which are not recognized/approved by the BCI. Admittedly, at present, all the petitioners-colleges are not having any recognition/approval of the BCI. Therefore, the issues raised in the petitions deserve consideration.”

A Coordinate Bench of the High Court had earlier directed the universities to which these eight law colleges are affiliated and the State of Gujarat to clarify their stance regarding the allotment of students to colleges lacking BCI recognition.

In an affidavit dated May 24, 2024, it was submitted, “6. I say that considering the above, petitioner college being grant-in-aid college does not have requisite staff or any recognition from the Bar Council of India, therefore, in the interest of students, it would not be appropriate at this stage to allot students.”

The State of Gujarat also submitted an affidavit dated May 25, 2024, indicating that the state government has no role in student allotment to universities or colleges. The affidavit mentioned that from the academic year 2024-25, the admission process for all government universities has been updated via the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) portal. After registration on the GCAS portal, student data is transferred to universities, which then allot students to colleges.

In response to the court's query about unrecognised colleges appearing on the GCAS portal, the state explained that these names were added by the concerned universities. Given the issue and the matter being sub judice, the registration process for the three-year LLB course has been temporarily suspended.

The court observed that the grant-in-aid colleges affiliated with various universities are struggling to obtain BCI recognition/approval, with the main issues being inspection and recruitment of core faculty for one division of 60 students.

Senior advocate SI Nanavati stated that seven of the eight petitioner-colleges have paid the requisite inspection fees to the BCI, with the remaining college, Godhra Law College, paying the fees by the end of the day.

Advocate Manan Shah, representing the BCI, assured the court that the BCI would expedite the inspection process.

The court directed the BCI to complete inspections and report to the respective universities/colleges by June 15, 2024, to streamline the process.

Regarding faculty recruitment, the court noted, “the respondent - State Government has started taking steps to recruit adequate number of full time faculty members to teach each subject of studies. This Court is hopeful that the BCI may consider this aspect for granting temporary or regular approval as per Rule 26 of the Rules 2008.”

The next hearing is scheduled for June 20.

The colleges that approached the High Court are MS Bhagat and CS Sonawala Law College, Kheda; Sheth Dosabhai Lalchand Law College, Kutch; MSK Law College and MN Law College in Patan; Godhra Law College; Junagadh Law College; KP Shah Law College, Junagadh and HJ Law College in Bhavnagar.

Case Title: M.S.Bhagat And C.S. Sonawala Law College Versus Bar Council Of India & Ors.

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