BCI argued that only students who have completed a regular LL.B. course from a recognized university are eligible to enroll as advocates.
NEW DELHI: Today, 21st March: The Supreme Court of India has advised the Bar Council of India (BCI) to stay away from issues related to legal education. The apex court made this observation while rejecting BCI’s appeal against a Kerala High Court ruling that allowed two murder convicts to study law online from jail.
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Justice Surya Kant, while hearing the case, made a strong oral remark against BCI’s interference in legal education.
He said:
“First of all, speaking for myself – and I will persuade my brother also – the BCI has no business to go into legal education…Legal education should be left to the jurists, to legal academicians. Have mercy on the legal education of this country.”
This comment came during the hearing of a case where BCI was opposing the Kerala High Court’s order that allowed two prisoners to study law online.
Background
The Kerala High Court, in its November 2023 ruling, had permitted two life convicts to pursue a law degree through online mode. The convicts had cleared the entrance exam for the LL.B. course conducted by the Kerala Law Entrance Commissioner for the 2023-24 academic year. They had sought interim bail to attend their law classes.
BCI argued that only students who have completed a regular LL.B. course from a recognized university are eligible to enroll as advocates. However, the colleges where the convicts secured admission agreed to allow them to attend classes online if the court granted permission.
The High Court, while permitting the prisoners to study law, observed:
“A convict is entitled to basic human rights and has the right to live with dignity in jail. The prisoners’ right to education is a human right grounded in the right to dignity. A prisoner has as much a right to pursue study as a person free from the confines of jail.”
The court also ruled that if practical training or exams required the prisoners’ physical presence, they could be released on interim bail.
BCI challenged the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court but faced rejection. The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, dismissed the appeal due to excessive delay, as the ruling was from November 2023 and BCI challenged it only in March 2024.
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Justice Kant further questioned why BCI was opposing the convicts’ right to education, stating:
“What would happen if the convicts were to be acquitted in the future (on appeals)?”
Considering both the delay and the merits of the case, the Supreme Court rejected BCI’s plea, upholding the Kerala High Court’s ruling.
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