BCI Tells Supreme Court that Decision to Scrap One-Year LL.M Won’t Apply for this Year

The Bar Council of India on Thursday told the Supreme Court that its decision to scrap the one-year LL.M programme and derecognise foreign LL.M course will come into effect from the academic year 2022-23. 

A bench, headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian recorded the submissions of BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra that no interim order would be required in the matter. 

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing the Consortium of National Law Universities, which challenged the validity of the BCI rules, expressed its satisfaction at the submissions of the BCI Chairman. 

The universities agreed before the top court that no urgent order was required in their appeal against the BCI's decision. The universities had pointed out that one year LLM degree was the norm across universities the world over. 

The BCI had recently notified the BCI Legal Education (Post Graduate, Doctoral, Executive, Vocational, Clinical and other Continuing Education) Rules, 2020 (Rules) which held that the LLM course has to be of two years and scrapped the one-year course, in the official gazette on January 4. It mandated that the post-graduate course in law leading to Master's degree, i.e LL.M has to be of two years spread over four semesters. 

The Rules also partly derecognised foreign LL.M stating that the same shall be equivalent to LL.M obtained in India only if it is taken after obtaining the LL.B degree from any foreign or Indian University which is equivalent to the recognized LL.B degree in India. 

After a brief hearing in the matter, the top court adjourned the matter for four weeks. 

The Consortium of National Law Universities had sought status quo in the matter against the backdrop of 5,000 applications for one-year LLM course advertised in January this year. They had contended that LLM degree course comes under the domain of UGC regulations and the BCI had power under the Advocates Act to regulate the LLB degree only.