The Supreme Court of India on Monday observed that it cannot impose its views on issues related to legal education while hearing a PIL seeking to reduce the five-year integrated LL.B. course to four years.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay. The petition sought the formation of a Legal Education Commission comprising eminent jurists to review and reform the legal education system, including course duration and syllabus.
During the hearing, Upadhyay argued that most professional courses in India are four years long and claimed the five-year law programme discourages meritorious students from entering the field.
The Bench, however, noted that the judiciary is only one of several stakeholders in shaping legal education and stressed that broader consultation involving academicians, jurists, the Bar, and policy experts is necessary. It also questioned the need for judicial intervention if universities themselves are not in favour of the current system.
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