Gujarat High Court Stays Admissions In Gujarat University-Affiliated Law Colleges Till June 28

The Gujarat High Court has stayed admissions in eight government grant-in-aid law colleges in the city and Gandhinagar in response to the Bar Council of India's (BCI) recent cancellation of recognition for these institutions.

Justice Nikhil Kariel passed the order on petitions filed by three grant-in-aid law colleges, which alleged that the BCI removed them from the list of recognized law colleges without conducting mandatory inspections.

Issuing notice to the respondents for June 28, the court said: "Till the next date of hearing, the Gujarat University is directed not to allot any students to any of the law colleges affiliated with Gujarat University."

Three grant-in-aid law colleges under the Gujarat Law Society (GLS): LA Shah Law College, IM Nanavati Law College, and MN Nanavati Law College, have approached the court. Advocate General Kamal Trivedi was present during the hearing to assist the court in the matter.

MN Nanavati Law College sought appropriate directions to the respondent authority to conduct an inspection of the college. It also sought direction against Gujarat University to clarify the admission status of students who would be allotted seats through the Centralized Admission Process, considering its recognition by the Bar Council of India.

The petitioner had applied for an inspection on 08.07.2021, as per the requirement of the Bar Council of India Rules. However, there has been no action taken by the respondent authority to conduct the inspection, nor have they updated the recognition status of the college on their website, it alleged.

The college said it regularly provides student enrolment information to the BCI and pays an annual Web Portal Registration Fee of Rs. 100 per student. As a grant-in-aid college, the petitioner charges nominal fees, making it financially challenging to apply for inspection approval every one or two years, it said.

The Bar Council of India prescribes an application and inspection fee of Rs. 3,50,000 (Rs. 3,00,000 towards Inspection Fees and Rs. 50,000 towards the Application Form). However, the petitioner argued that it cannot impose additional fees on students without permission from the State Government or Gujarat University. The Bar Council of India cannot expect any grant-in-aid law colleges to apply for inspection approval at regular intervals, it said.

The college said it has communicated the anomalous situation to Gujarat University, highlighting the repercussions if admissions are allotted to it without BCI recognition. However, as of now, the petitioner has not received a response from Gujarat University even as the latter has already started accepting online applications for the three-year LLB program from students, it said.

Case Title:

1. M. Nanavati Law College Versus Bar Council Of India R/Special Civil Application No. 10382 Of 2023.
2. Maneklal Nanavati Law College Versus Bar Council Of India. R/Special Civil Application No. 10374 Of 2023
3. Shri L.A. Shah College Versus Bar Council Of India. R/Special Civil Application No. 10375 Of 2023

Appearance: MR MRUGEN K PUROHIT(1224) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4

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