Supreme Court of India suggests expert body for legal education

The Supreme Court of India has expressed support for the establishment of an expert body to oversee legal education. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted that in the current era, such expert bodies are necessary to address the curriculum and duration of law courses.

The court's observations follow a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, which argues that the existing duration of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) programs is disproportionate to the course material. The plea suggests that the current five-year BA-LLB and BBA-LLB structures place an excessive financial burden on students and may disincentivize them from pursuing legal careers.

The proceedings have raised questions regarding the regulatory role of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and whether academic standards should be managed by a dedicated Legal Education Commission consisting of jurists, academicians, and retired judges. The bench emphasized that the Union of India plays an important role in addressing these educational standards.