The hunger strike by final year students of Government Law College, Tiruchi, demanding scrapping of the entrance test that the Bar Council of India (BCI) has made mandatory from this year for law graduates before commencement of practice, entered second day on Tuesday. The strike has affected the functioning of classes.
As per the information available on the UGC (University Grants Commission) website, the BCI, constituted under the Advocates Act 1961, is empowered to lay down guidelines for the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by advocates.
The BCI can also specify the conditions subject to which an advocate must have the right to practise and the circumstances under which a person must be deemed to practise as an advocate in a court. The BCI has not imposed any ban on enrolling law graduates before clearing the examination. However, they have to clear the entrance test before practising, it is learnt. The BCI had announced that it would conduct the test in December.
Referring to the BCI's reasoning that the test was necessary due to deteriorating quality of law education, the striking students said that the onus was on the government to enhance the quality through appointing adequate faculty and creating the required infrastructure. There was a huge shortcoming in the hostel facility for students in all government law colleges barring the one in Chennai, they said.
When there was no such test for practising professions like medicine and engineering, there was no reason for law students to accept the BCI norm, they argued.
