THE CLEAN-UP PLAN BY BCI

Suspecting that a large number of advocates hold fake degrees, the legal education regulator, Bar Council of India, has launched a country-wide verification process. The BCI has also imposed a three-year ban on new colleges during which it will take stock. It will plan the development of new colleges and shut down “nonperforming” ones. Speaking to Careers360, Satish Abarao Deshmukh, vice-chairman, BCI, said that 30 colleges have been served show-cause notices for flouting faculty-recruitment norms and may be facing closure.

- Pritha Roy Choudhury

Q. The Bar Council of India has found close to 112 lawyers holding fake law degrees. How did this happen?

A. Till 1961 [when the Advocates Act was passed], law colleges were under the ambit of universities. Each university had its own set of rules. There was no uniform rule for all the universities and colleges. We [the BCI] gradually developed the rules and got them approved by Parliament. Now we are inspecting the colleges also. We enrol the students of those colleges that follow our rules and take approval from us regularly in the Bar Councils. Those who don't comply with our rules, we don't enrol them. Like recently, we have refused to enrol students of two colleges in Maharashtra in the Bar Council.

The universities which have not taken BCI’s affiliation are fake and the students with a degree from these universities or institutes hold fake degrees.

Q. How many such colleges and universities are there?

A. In five to six months’ time we should be able to tell you how many universities or colleges are there. In some time, we will de-recognise all those colleges and universities which do not fulfil the rules of Bar Council of India. We should be able to identify all such universities or colleges in the next six months.

Q. How did this issue come up?