Why DU students were barred, Delhi HC asks bar councils

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought responses from the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Delhi Bar Council (DBC) on a plea challenging the apex law body's order barring law graduates from Delhi University from being enrolled as advocates.

Justice Manmohan issued notice to the BCI, the DBC, Delhi University and its Faculty of Law and sought their replies by Nov 22 on a law student's petition for quashing the BCI's September order.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by law student Tarun Narang through advocate Naushad Ahmad Khan, seeking to quash the BCI's order that law graduates who passed out from the three centres of Delhi University's Law Faculty this year cannot be enrolled as advocates.

Khan told the court that 1,600 students were adversely affected, and were yet to be enrolled, and 7,500 were also indirectly affected because of non-approval of the Campus Law Centre, Law Centre-I and Law Centre-II.

On Sep 22, the BCI, which regulates legal education in India, asked state bar councils not to enrol students who passed out from the three centres of DU's Law Faculty as advocates as the Law Faculty failed to obtain "extension of approval of affiliation" from the BCI despite repeated reminders.

The DU Law Faculty failed to obtain extension from the BCI beyond the academic year 2010-11.

Every year, the Law Faculty admits around 2,000 students in its three centres, two of which hold classes in the evening.

Seeking quashing of the BCI order, Khan told the court that the decision was arbitrary and against the Legal Education Rules, 2008.