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DU law fac infra remains terrible, so BCI hits back with bangin’ Rs 30 L fine for DU’s default in inspection fees

DU law classrooms are so badly overcrowded that students have to share and bring in extra seats
DU law classrooms are so badly overcrowded that students have to share and bring in extra seats

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has fined the Delhi University’s law centres Rs 30 lakh and capped its total number of seats this year to around 1,000 fewer than last year, for defaulting on the payment of affiliation fees and for lacking in infrastructure, reported the Indian Express.

DU law, which first ran into trouble with the BCI in 2014 for allegedly defaulting under the Legal Education Rules 2008 which require it to request the BCI for inspection every three years, has been penalised again for the same issues after a stay of execution for the last two years.

Under the 2008 Rules, law colleges have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh per degree course every three years or every five years, respectively, for three-year LLB degrees and 5-year LLB degrees, in order not to lose the BCI’s affiliation.

The BCI’s inspection committee then visits law colleges and reports on whether their infrastructure meets the minimum requirements under the 2008 Rules, and renews or cancels the colleges’ affiliation.

DU law centres’ dean Prof Ved Kumari had earlier this year written to DU’s vice chancellor pointing out infrastructural deficiencies on campus such as not enough space in the classrooms to seat all students, according to a source with knowledge of the letter.

According to several sources on the DU law campus, DU has been admitting 96 students per class section but only has around 50 seats, which results in the remaining nearly 50 students left to stand to attend lectures, or not attend lectures at all.

The BCI had allowed DU to admit 2,310 students last year because the university had already advertised the seats and received applications for intake. This year the BCI has capped the total number of seats at 1,440.

Kumari had, according to the Express, written to the BCI after it imposed the fine in March, stating: “Request you to kindly waive off the penalty amount in view of the fact that the faculty is a public funded educational institution receiving grants from University Grants Commission (UGC), wherein no fund is allocated for the payment of such penalty.”

This is a DU classroom intended for 96 students
This is a DU classroom intended for 96 students

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