Report No. 184

Chapter XI

Derecognition of University and Disaffiliation of College

Provision in section 7(1)(i) to derecognise University to be modified as one for derecognising either the University or a particular institution/College imparting legal education.

11. Section 7(1)(i) of the Advocates Act, 1961 enables the Bar Council of India to recognise universities whose law degrees shall be sufficient qualification for enrolment as an advocate. Now, the colleges which are imparting legal education are in large number, within every university. Today, there are also Law Universities established under statutes.

11.1 Question arises as to what should be done when a particular law college does not conform to the prescribed standards or violates other directives of the Bar Council of India and the latter wants to de-recognise a college. As at present clause (i) of section 7(1) speaks of recognizing universities. This impliedly includes derecognition also. Certain doubts have been expressed whether for the fault of a single college within a university, the university itself of which it is a part, has to be derecognised. In such a situation, it is pointed out that it would be sufficient if the BCI should require the University concerned to withdraw its affiliation to the said college. Of course, in the case of a University, if it violates any directive of the Bar Council of India, question may arise if the University itself has to be derecognised.

11.2 In the light of this discussion, clause (i) of section 7(1) needs to be amended for conferring powers to the Bar Council of India to recognize a university or to issue direction to any university to disaffiliate a law college in consultation with the Legal Education Committee of the Bar Council of India.

11.3 We recommend that section 7(1)(i) should be substituted as follows:

"(i) to recognize universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate or to de-recognise such University or to issue direction to any University to disaffiliate a law college in consultation with the Bar Council Legal Education Committee "

We further recommend that in section 49 (1), following clause should be inserted:

"(aj) the procedure regarding recognition and de-recognition of such universities as referred to in clause (i) of sub-section(1) of section 7 and the procedure regarding the issuing of direction to a university to disaffiliate a Law college."