SC Refuses to Entertain Plea for Three-Year Bachelor of Law after Class 12

A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justice JB Pardiwala refused to entertain a plea seeking a three-year Bachelor of Law after class 12.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and Bar Council of India to constitute an expert panel to ascertain the feasibility of starting a three-year Bachelor of Law Course after class 12, instead of the current five-year course.

A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justice JB Pardiwala said the five-year LLB (Bachelor of Law) course is "working fine" and there was no need to tinker with it. The bench said, “We need mature people coming into the profession. This five-year course has been very beneficial”.

The bench was hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who was represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh before the top court.

The apex court orally observed someone might even question a three-year course, and demand permission to practice law right after the High Court. Singh submitted that the five-year course disincentivised girls and students from the poor strata of society.

The CJI said, during his time, it took six years for one to get a law degree, three years for graduation and another three years for the law degree.

After noting that the court is not inclined to entertain the petition, the petitioner asked the court to issue a direction to the Bar Council of India to consider his representation. However, the apex court refused. After a brief hearing, the petitioner withdrew the petition from the apex court.