BCI should amend rules permitting people without formal education to step into law colleges, suggests HC

CHENNAI
BCI should amend rules permitting people without formal education to step into law colleges, suggests HC
Legal Correspondent
CHENNAI 05 SEPTEMBER 2020 00:16 IST
UPDATED: 05 SEPTEMBER 2020 00:16 IST
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The Madras High Court has suggested that the Bar Council of India (BCI) should amend its Legal Education Rules, that permit even those who have pursued education through open schooling and distance or correspondence courses, without attending a regular school or college during their lifetime, to get admitted in law colleges.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said that it might not be a healthy trend to admit such candidates in three or five-year law degree courses offered by various universities and law colleges in the country if the BCI was really interested in maintaining the quality of education in law. He directed the High Court Registry to communicate his order to the BCI.

“The BCI should seriously take this suggestion into consideration and make necessary changes to the Rules,” he said and added that as far as the rules were in place, the law universities and colleges could not deny admission to those who had pursued schooling as well as degree courses through distance or correspondence modes.

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The observations were made while disposing of a writ petition filed by a candidate who was denied admission by the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University during the academic year 2019-20. Since that academic year had gone past, the judge permitted the petitioner to participate in the admission process for 2020-21.

He made it clear that the university could not deny admission to him on the ground of not having pursued education in regular schools or colleges, since a proviso to Rule 5 of BCI’s Rules of Legal Education permits admission of applicants who had completed Plus Two as well as their first degree through distance education or correspondence mode.