Petition in SC to make Bachelor of Law program for three years after 12. Click to learn more
Petition in SC to make Bachelor of Law program for three years after 12. Click to learn more (Representational Pic)
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, urging the Centre and the Bar Council of India to establish an expert panel to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a three-year Bachelor of Law (LLB) program after the 12th standard, similar to BSc, BCom, and BA courses.
The petition argues that the current duration of the LLB course, which spans five years or 10 semesters, is unreasonable, arbitrary, and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It contends that a three-year LLB program would offer students two uninterrupted years to gain practical experience in a court or law firm, pursue a Master’s degree, or prepare for judicial exams.
Highlighting examples of successful legal professionals who completed their law degrees at a young age, such as Ram Jethmalani and Fali Nariman, the petitioner emphasizes that an early start is beneficial for talented students. The plea suggests that the existing five-year LLB course may hinder the progress of prodigies by imposing unnecessary constraints on their educational journey.
The petition implies that the extended duration of the law course may be influenced by the financial interests of college management, aiming to maximize revenue from the program.
He further tells the court that “It appears that the unreasonable 05 years length of the Law Course has been set under the Pressure of College Management so as to make the most amount of money they could from the course. The Course fee of Private Law Colleges and even the National Law Universities is exorbitant and lower as well as middle class students find it very difficult to pursue Bachelor of Law with such exorbitant fees structure and that too for 05 years (10 semesters).”
The exorbitant fees charged by private law colleges and even National Law Universities pose significant challenges for lower and middle-class students, making it difficult for them to pursue a Bachelor of Law degree under the current fee structure, especially for a duration of five years.
The plea seeks intervention from the Supreme Court to address these concerns and explore the possibility of implementing a shorter LLB program to make legal education more accessible and conducive to the needs of students.
