SRINAGAR: The Union government has clarified in Parliament that three-year LLB courses being conducted online or through holiday classes for working professionals, including Central government employees, will not be recognised for legal practice in courts.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Bar Council of India (BCI), the regulatory body for legal education, does not permit law degrees obtained through online mode or weekend and holiday classes. The Minister underlined that the BCI’s position is rooted in the need to preserve the integrity and seriousness of legal education.
According to the government’s reply, the BCI has argued that the LLB is not a secondary pursuit but a professional course directly linked to the justice delivery system, demanding full-time commitment. It pointed out that a comprehensive legal education cannot be compressed into limited class hours or online modules, since it requires rigorous training, including moot courts, internships, and continuous academic assessments.
The BCI has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of allowing working professionals to enter the legal field late in their careers, noting that their readiness and competence to handle legal cases could be “questionable”. Online or part-time arrangements, it added, lack the rigour to produce competent practitioners capable of serving clients and the justice system effectively.
Responding to a separate query on whether the government planned to reintroduce evening LLB courses for Central government employees, the Minister said there was no such scheme under consideration at present.
The clarification comes amid reports that some universities and law colleges across the country were offering such flexible LLB courses to accommodate working professionals. However, the government’s reply makes it clear that graduates of such programmes will not be eligible to practice law in India.
