Examine afresh DU’S plea for increasing LLB seats: HC to BCI

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to examine afresh the Delhi University’s (DU) representation to induct 2,310 students in its LLB course as against 1,440 fixed by the lawyers’ body.

A Bench of Justices S Muralidhar and C Hari Shankar told the BCI that its Legal Education Committee (LEC), scheduled to meet from June 17-19, shall “independently” consider the varsity’s representation and the report of its inspection, to decide how many students can be inducted this year. The court said that the LEC will take a decision “uninfluenced” by the BCI’S rejection of the DU’S representation.

It told the lawyers’ body that the LEC will communicate its decision in writing to the Dean of the Law Faculty of the DU on or before June 24, along with a copy of the inspection report.

It said that the decision and inspection report be also placed before the court on the next date of hearing on June 27.

The order came after the BCI told the Bench that its committee inspected the three centres of the Law Faculty on June 9 and has given a report which would be placed before the LEC when it meets for three days from June 17.

The court had on June 7 told the lawyers’ body that if the varsity has paid the fees for inspection of its centres, then the BCI should follow the rules and carry out the exercise.