Higher Edu Bill not to interfere in bar councils' powers:Sibal

"The proposed bill aims at subsuming the functions of UGC, AICTE, AICTI, NCTI and DEC," Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said in a letter to Bihar State Bar Council.

The bill, he said, will not interfere in the functions of the Bar Council of India or the state bar councils, which will continue to exercise its powers of inspection of Law institutions awarding LLB degree for maintaining the standard of legal education.

"The bill will also not interfere in the regulation of disciplinary powers of these bodies," the letter said.

He also offered to discuss the matter with representatives of BCI and its state bodies and explain the issues relating to the proposed bill.

Meanwhile, Bihar Bar council chairman Baleshwar Prasad Sharma said the letter bears Sibal's signature but it is without date or any reference number.

BCI members and representatives of the state bar council will sit on a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 8, the opening day of the monsoon session of Parliament against the bill.