Law minister Kiren Rijiju spoke, on Thursday, about the need for better accountability in law colleges, saying the Bar Council of India has earmarked 500 institutions across the country as substandard or below standard and might consider closing some after further enquiry, the Times of India reported. 

Rijiju also referred to a Supreme Court judgment on March 15, 2022, where the apex court had spoken of “the desirability of having better accountability from law colleges, absence of requisite faculty, and monitoring by the Bar Council of India to ensure that once a law college obtains recognition, it is to maintain the parameters as set forth by the BCI”. 

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He told the ministry that an evaluation of the law colleges had been undertaken to revamp the system, where it was found that nearly 500 of them didn’t match up to BCI standards. Rijiju said, as per TOI, “A team led by some former judges, advocates and noted academicians plan to conduct surprise visits of such institutions and if any institution is found to be below standard, i.e. not having sufficient faculty or infrastructure, then the BCI shall take immediate step to close such institutions”. 

The minister added that a committee comprising of former Supreme Court and High Court judges had been formed by the BCI to look into these issues. 

Apart from that, Rijiju also spoke in the Rajya Sabha, highlighting how the government is working on overhauling criminal laws in the country and working on comprehensive legislation for the same. The law minister championed this over piecemeal changes to separate Acts, saying the focus would be on ensuring speedy justice. 

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The need for drastic change has been pointed out by a special committee headed by the Vice-Chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi, as well as the Parliament’s standing committee. Rijiju added, as per TOI, “The Committee has made recommendations on various sections of the IPC, CrPC and IEA”.