Council bars 24 law colleges from conducting admissions

The colleges have failed to seek apex recognition — a mandatory formality for all the law colleges — since 2008. An additional 40 colleges, which do not have the required number of teachers and have also failed to meet other norms of BCI, have been asked to comply with the norms till Friday or face the same fate.

Bar Council of India (BCI), the regulating body for legal education in the country, has barred 24 state law colleges from conducting admissions.

In addition to being affiliated with a public or private university, the law colleges are required to be recognised by Bar Council of India. (HT Illustration)

The colleges have failed to seek apex recognition — a mandatory formality for all the law colleges — since 2008. An additional 40 colleges, which do not have the required number of teachers and have also failed to meet other norms of BCI, have been asked to comply with the norms till Friday or face the same fate.

The colleges are among 128 colleges from the state seeking BCI recognition, of which, 64 have been granted recognition. In addition to being affiliated with a public or private university, the law colleges are required to be recognised by BCI.

For the last eight years, the colleges reportedly did not apply for BCI recognition and have now been denied fresh intake. The list also includes around 10 colleges which were barred from conducting admissions last year, but admitted students anyway.

“The BCI had granted permanent affiliation (recognition) to law colleges in the country till 2008. After that, the colleges were asked to apply for affiliation afresh. But many colleges from the state did not apply for it despite our repeated reminders,” said a member of BCI standing committee.

The fate of the 40 colleges, which did not meet the norms, will be decided at the BCI standing committee meeting on Saturday.