Affiliation issue to be sorted in 10-15 days, says DU

The University of Delhi's Faculty of Law has said issues concerning the university's affiliation to the Bar Council of India (BCI) would be sorted out in the next 10-15 days, in a bid to pacify students' concerns.

"We will do whatever needs to be done soon and the entire matter can be put to rest in the next 10-15 days," Ashwani Kumar Bansal, Dean, Faculty of Law, said. "We are not averse to their inspection and we want to end this amicably."

Delhi University (DU)'s statement follows the BCI's stand that the course offered by the faculty would be de-recognised. The BCI had threatened to de-recognise the course after the faculty failed to affiliate themselves with the council since 2011.

On September 22, the Bar Council, which regulates the legal education in the country, had asked the Delhi University to inform them about measures taken to affiliate themselves with the council, failing which students from the law faculty would not be recognised. "The institute has not been inspected for years. We had asked them in 2011-12 to affiliate themselves with the council but they did not listen to us and thought it unnecessary since they are deemed. But more than 75 per cent of the deemed universities have already affiliated themselves with us and are open to inspection," according to a senior official from the BCI told Business Standard.

The Bar Council's decision is expected to have an impact on more than 2,000 students who study in three facilities of the institute. According to the BCI, the organisation had in 2010 asked the faculty to register itself with the council, but had not received any response. "In the absence of extension of approval of affiliation of these law centres, the students who were admitted in the sessions 2011-12 onward and passed out from the academic year 2013-14, are not eligible for enrollment as advocates,'' the council's letter to the university said. ''You are therefore advised to take appropriate action with regard to these law centres and inform BCI about steps taken in this regard immediately," it added.

Following DU's statement, the BCI has now held that the faculty should immediately approach the council with their request and a subsequent inspection can be held at the facility before any further decision can be taken.

The DU faculty does not have adequate teachers and infrastructure, the BCI official said. "Let them write to us and we will have our inspection following which we will take a decision."