New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi University not to treat its the three law colleges, which have been in controversy recently for alleged non-compliance of the Bar Council Of India (BCI) norms, in a "step motherly" way.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said that the Delhi University's (DU) law schools are very much part of the varsity and closing down will affect the future of the students.
"The three law centres are very much part of the DU," the court said, adding that they should not be treated in a a step-motherly way. The court said this when it was informed that the BCI inspection committee that had visited and reported on the state of affairs was of the firm view that the DU's three law schools should be closed down.
The inspection committee has recommended that the DU's law centres failed to comply with 17 conditions listed and it should not be allowed to admit new batches of students. The court was hearing a PIL filed by Tarun Narang seeking setting aside of a notification barring fresh law graduates of the DU from being enrolled as lawyers.
A BCI letter, issued on September 23 last year, to Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), other state Bar Councils and to the DU's Vice Chancellor declared that in the absence of extension of approval of affiliation of law centres in Delhi, the students admitted in sessions 2011-12 onward and passed out from the academic year 2013-14, are not eligible for enrollment.
The petitions have termed the letter of BCI as arbitrary and violative of fundamental rights of innocent students. The petitions also alleged BCD cannot revoke the approval of affiliation of the DU's three law centres without an "adverse report of inspection".
"BCI has revoked the approval of affiliation only on the ground that Law Centres, University of Delhi, did not comply with the order issued by it," the petition said. It said that such a direction, revoking the approval of affiliation of all Law Centres of University of Delhi is without proper procedure of physical inspection as mentioned in the Inspection Manual 2010, which has been framed by BCI itself in 2010.
It has also sought a direction to BCI and BCD to pay Rs 5 lakh each as compensation to law graduates who have been wrongfully and illegally denied enrollment as advocates. The court has fixed the matter for further hearing on March 12.
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