The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, hearing a petition challenging an order passed by the Bar Council of India, stayed the order and observed that people obtaining law degrees without going to colleges and attending classes was not an isolated incident.
A division bench of Justices N.Kirubakaran and R.Tharani observed that the court was unable to understand as how permission was granted to so many law colleges without determining the requirements of lawyers.
This posed a threat to the legal profession, said the court. The bar council and the advocates and bar associations ought to look into this with seriousness, but instead closed their eyes to the reality, it said.
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Action must be taken against such colleges. It is a matter to ponder over as to whether it would be possible to get B.E or M.B.B.S degrees in such a manner, observed the Court.
In the present case, the order passed by the Bar Council of India, which had stayed the order passed by the Tamil Nadu Bar Council, was challenged.
The State Bar Council had removed an advocate from the bar after it was found out that he had obtained his degree through correspondence course.
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The court said that it would like to eliminate those persons from the profession who obtained degrees through such means. Also, law colleges without infrastructure and those ‘selling’ degrees would not be allowed to function.
The court raised a total of 31 questions regarding the issue.
The court suo motu impleaded Sarada Vilas Law College, Mysore, CBI, Secretary of The Ministry of Law and Justice, UGC, Law Commission, State Government Law Secretary, DGP, Chennai, and all the Madras High Court Bar Associations and the associations at the Madurai Bench.
The court said the decision to implead the CBI was due to the reason that only a central agency would be in a position to investigate and exercise its jurisdiction over the other States to determine the operation of such fraudulent colleges.
Notice was directed to all the impleaded parties. The case has been posted for further hearing to January 18.