Bar Council of India Declares Online/Distance LL.M. Courses Unauthorised: Compliance Notice Issued

An official notification just came out from the Bar Council of India stating that LL.M and other equivalent postgraduate legal programmes offered through online or distance mode of learning without any prior BCI approval are NOT VALID. 

To note again, the notice was released by BCI’s standing committee on Legal education, and it was authored by Justice (Retd.) Rajendra Menon was sent and circulated to all the High Court Registrars, legal institutes and State Bar Councils to take strict actions against unapproved legal courses provided by any institution.  

Regulatory Basis

It has been clearly made understood by the Bar Council of India that online or distance modes done by any individual for a professional legal degree like LLM need to have BCI approval. Under the Advocates Act, 1961, and the Legal Education Rules, BCI is the ultimate authority that is responsible for regulating legal education.

Show-Cause Notices and Enforcement

Institutions like NLIU Bhopal, IIT Indore, OP Jindal Global University, and NLU Delhi have been issued notice by the Bar Council of India for offering law courses without proper approval.

Student Advisory

A public advisory will also be going to be issued to make all students and institutions understand not to enrol in or offer these unapproved courses. It will be done to protect the integrity of legal education in the country. 

Impact on Students and Professionals

So, the students who are appearing or have appeared, holding degrees from unapproved online or distance programmes, can face some sort of limitations, like:

• Ineligibility for judicial services and promotions
• Non-recognition for UGC-NET or Ph.D. registration in law
• Invalidity for legal teaching positions
• Rejection by courts or employers if relied upon as professional credentials 

Bottom Line: The BCI’s latest notice reinforces that only BCI-approved legal education programmes will be recognised for academic, professional, and judicial purposes in India, and online/distance LL.M. degrees without approval will be considered null and void.