The recent notification of the Bar Council of India abolished the 1 year LLM course. The new rules of 2020 seek to abolish the 1 year master degree in Law, in India. The master degree was introduced in the year 2013 by the University Grants Commission.
The notification said that it shall remain operative till the implementation of new rules. The rules come into force on the date specified in the notification. The new rules have extended the period of LLM (master degree) to 2 years (4 semesters). It is only restricted to law graduates and it is compulsory to study for 2 years.
A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging this notification of Bar Council. The petitioner is filed by Tamanna Chandan, a law student through Advocate Rahul Bhandari. The contention laid by the petitioner is that her right to education is violated by the new rules of 2020.
Also, it is submitted that the said rules are in violation of the provisions of the Advocate Act, 1961. The rules are in violation of the fundamentals right to education and to practice the profession.
There is no reasonable nexus to abolish the 1 year LLM course. Also, it was raised that the BCI does not have jurisdiction to pass such rules, only the UGC has jurisdiction.
