The Bar Council of India (BCI) has clarified that any Master of Laws (LL.M.) or equivalent legal programme offered through online, distance, blended, or hybrid modes—without its prior approval—will be considered unauthorised.
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The Bar Council of India (BCI) has clarified that any Master of Laws (LL.M.) or equivalent legal programme offered through online, distance, blended, or hybrid modes—without its prior approval—will be considered unauthorised and will not be recognised for any professional or academic purpose.
“This includes employment, academic appointments, research registration, or judicial service & departmental promotional eligibility,” the BCI stated in a recent communication. The regulatory body emphasised that it governs legal education standards across the country and that such programmes fall afoul of its Legal Education Rules, 2020.
The Council said it has already issued show cause notices and is in the process of initiating action against several prominent institutions, including the National Law Institute University (Bhopal), Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur), O.P. Jindal Global University (Sonipat), and National Law University (Delhi). These institutions, it alleged, are offering LL.M. or similarly designated legal programmes via online, distance, or blended formats without requisite BCI approval.
“Some of the institutions sought to justify their programmes by suggesting that they were ‘executive’ in nature, or ‘not equivalent’ to the traditional LL.M. degree. However, these claims were found to be untenable, particularly where the protected nomenclature ‘LL.M.’ was prominently used in advertisements, brochures, and academic communications,” the BCI said.
The Council noted that many of these institutions include disclaimers stating that the course is not equivalent to a BCI-recognised LL.M., but continue to use the term “LL.M.” prominently in promotional and academic materials. The BCI termed such conduct as “public misrepresentation, academic deception, and regulatory non-compliance”.
The BCI underscored that legal education—particularly at the postgraduate level—requires real-time, interactive discourse and sustained faculty-student engagement. “The absence of such engagement critically undermines the development of legal reasoning, argumentation, and analysis—essential competencies in the legal profession,” the Council stated.
It added that the Legal Education (Post-Graduate, Doctoral, Executive, Vocational, Clinical, and Other Continuing Education) Rules, 2020, categorically prohibit LL.M. programmes from being delivered through online or hybrid modes. Although the Rules have been challenged before the Supreme Court, no stay has been granted.
The Council also raised concerns that students graduating from such programmes are applying for academic and research roles. “Several students who have completed these online or hybrid LL.M. programmes have proceeded to register for the UGC-NET, Ph.D. in Law programmes, or applied for teaching positions in LL.B. courses. This is impermissible under the current regulatory regime,” it cautioned.
Published – June 30, 2025 08:01 pm IST
