Kerala High Court Seeks BCI’s Response Over Kozhikode Govt Law College’s 5-Year LL.B Course Operating Without Approval Since 2011
Pranav B Prem
The Kerala High Court has called for the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) response in a petition alleging that the statutory body failed to renew approval for the five-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) course at the Government Law College, Kozhikode after 2011, even though admissions have continued since then. Justice V. G. Arun directed the standing counsel for the Bar Council of India to obtain instructions and file a response in the matter.
The plea was filed by an advocate from Idukki, who discovered that his law degree from the Kozhikode Government Law College was treated as “unqualified” by the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) in Canada, when he applied for higher legal education and professional recognition there. According to the petitioner, the NCA refused to consider his qualification as a “Qualifying Law Degree” under its policy guidelines since the Bar Council of India’s approval for the institution expired with the 2010 intake. The petitioner pointed out that the official list of BCI-recognised Centres of Legal Education available on the Council’s website confirms that the Kozhikode college’s five-year integrated course approval was valid only up to 2011.
Despite the expiry of recognition, the petitioner submitted that the institution continued to admit students each year through the Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) conducted by the State Government. He further contended that both the Principal of Government Law College, Kozhikode, and the Department of Higher Education had failed to secure the mandatory recognition from the BCI as prescribed under Part IV, Chapter II and Chapter III of the Bar Council of India Rules after 2011. It was further alleged that the Bar Council of Kerala has acted in violation of Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961, by enrolling graduates from the said institution on the State Roll of Advocates, despite the lack of valid BCI recognition. The petitioner argued that such failure amounts to a denial of his fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) read with Article 19(6) of the Constitution of India, which guarantees the right to practice a profession.
He has sought a writ of mandamus directing the Bar Council of India, the Bar Council of Kerala, the University of Calicut, and the Department of Higher Education to grant retrospective approval to the college’s 5-year LL.B. course from 2011 onwards, thereby regularising his degree as a qualifying law degree for professional and academic purposes. The matter has been posted for further consideration on November 21.
Appearance
For the Petitioner: S Rajeev, V Vinay, M S Aneer, Sarath K P, Anillkumar C R, K S Kiran Krishnan, Dipa V, Akash Cherian Thomas, Azad Sunil, Advocates.
For Respondent: Rajit (SC - BCI), P C Sasidharan (SC - Calicut University), M U Vijayalakshmi (SC - BCK)
Cause Title: Muhammed Anwar Saidu v Bar Council of India and Others
Case No: WP(C) 39952/ 2025
Coram: Justice V. G. Arun
