Bar council rejects enrolment plea of 34; law with direct PG degree much wanting

By Gopal Ethiraj, Chennai

CHENNAI, 01 Aug. (asiantribune.com): The enrolment application of about 34 law graduates, who had done law after completing a direct post-graduate degree under open university scheme, have been rejected, and the same forwarded for suitable recommendations to the Bar Council of India (BCI).

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu rejected this category of law graduates, based on an order by a division bench of the Madras High Court in February 2008 which held that a master’s degree obtained through the open university system without a foundation degree or a basic degree, was invalid. The bench comprising Justice P.K.Mishra and Justice K.K. Sasidharan had also ruled that such a degree is not valid for "any purpose, including employment". The February 2008 order was upheld by the Supreme Court recently.

This tough stand would have its repercussions. There are many among the practising advocates who had a law degree after a direct PG degree from an open university and enrolled themselves. If the case is decided against them, would their licence be cancelled?

D Selvam is the chairman of the enrolment committee, Venkatesan and M Varadhan are the members. Selvam said the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu is already collecting details from the records, and orders debarring them from practice would be dispatched soon.

There is a case of four practising advocates of the Nagercoil Bar, who had forged their degree certificates to join law courses in the early 1990s. After a division bench headed by Justice Elipe Dharma Rao directed to study the complaint received from the Nagercoil Bar, the enrolment committee found the degree certificate and the marksheets submitted by the candidates to be fake.

”We are sending the necessary recommendations to the BCI for appropriate action and will submit a separate report before the bench," the enrolment committee chairman said.