New Delhi: In a decisive step towards preserving the credibility of legal education in India, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a formal advice against the spread of unpublished LLM (master of laws) introduced in online, distance or hybrid formats. This advisor confirms the exclusive regulatory role of BCI and emphasisCompliance with the current legal and educational structure.Justice Rajendra Menon, a letter written by the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and the co-chairman of the Standing Committee on Legal Education was addressed to the registrar of all the High Courts as well as the Supreme Court Registrar Generals. Copies of the letter were also broadcast to universities and State Bar Councils to ensure compliance and initiate appropriate action.The advisory Supreme Court rules, UGC (Open and Distance Learning) Regulations, 2020, and BCI’s binding authority of their legal education rules (2008 and 2020) reiterates, under which LLM programs must secure pre-approval before being conducted through non-conventional methods. Any deviation, it warns, is a threat to the standard, uniformity and legal purity of postgraduate legal education across the country.A letter issued in this regard states that, concerned with the increasing number of programs under alternative titles in Cyber Laws like LLM (professional), executive LLM, or MSc, BCI has highlighted that many of these courses are being run without compulsory approval. Such practices said, “Not only do the Supreme Court violate the instructions, but also mislead students and reduce educational quality.”The Bar Council clarified that under the Advocates Act, 1961, it is the only statutory authority that is empowered to regulate both undergraduate and postgraduate law programs. No other unit, including UGC or autonomous universities, cannot independently validate LLM courses. The council emphasized that the LLM degree is the minimum qualification required for the teaching law, and therefore any exemption in quality or regulatory compliance directly affects the legal profession.In the light of these violations, the BCI has urged the High Courts to reject the qualification received from unattainable LLM programs for taking judicial notices, appointments or promotion of the BCI in legal education andWhere necessary, institutions and individuals are required to submit compliance with BCI.To protect students and maintain public trust, the Bar Council plans to take precautions against enrollment in such unauthorized programs. It is also preparing to start contempt proceedings and other legal measures against the institutions found in violation of these guidelines.
