Mumbai: A law student has written to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court seeking intervention to ask Mumbai University to promote students without conducting law exams.
Samarvir Singh, a fourth-year-old student of law from Mumbai’s Government Law College, approached the HC following contradictory guidelines issued by the Mumbai University that conducts exams in Maharashtra and the Bar Council of India (BCI). While the Maharashtra education department had relaxed examinations owing to Covid-19 pandemic and asked students to be promoted based on past Semester results, the BCI had been insisting on assessments being conducted for students in one form or other.
The BCI had sought that students be made to give either online exams or they be asked to do research papers or project reports. The BCI also wants students to appear for the same Semester exams a month after whenever their college terms starts. “Confusion abounds due to such conflicting directives. So many of our students have returned to their homes out of Mumbai and do not have access to journals or libraries or online references. Many students hail from economical weaker sections and don’t have access to laptops or good internet connectivity in their hometowns. Also, students will be burdened with additional syllabi next term if they are made to give this Semester later,” said Singh.
Also Read: Nepotism is just form of branding in Bollywood, says senior trade analyst
He argues that promoting students may not affect the quality of lawyers in any manner since “law is dynamic and new laws like GST etc will constantly keep coming up”‘. The issue here also pertains to which authority – the BCI or the state- has the upper hand when it comes to law education.
Manasi Bhushan, a practicing lawyer from Delhi, and a GLC alumni says: “One has to clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) conducted by BCI to be eligible to practice in Courts across India, even after obtaining degrees from law colleges. A sanad or certification from BCI is a must even after getting law degrees,” says Bhushan, who herself had moved court in 2018 to strike down MU rules barring supplementary answer sheets in law exams. Letters to Chief Justice are important since they have the potential to be turned into suo moto petitions for action.
