New Delhi

SASTRA questions BCI’s nod for Vellore law college

NEW DELHI: The grant of approval by the Bar Council of India to the Tamil Nadu Government to start a law college at Vellore in a temporary building that lacks infrastructure and to admit students for a three-year law degree from 2008-2009 has been questioned.

Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu, has invited applications for admission to government law colleges, including the one at Vellore that will have an intake of 80 students. The proposed college will function temporarily at the Government Arts College, Vellore. In a June 25 letter to the BCI, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, has questioned its wisdom of allowing admission to a college which has “no land, no building or any infrastructure.” Citing a news report in his letter, Vice-Chancellor R. Sethuraman said: “For establishing the law college at Vellore, a place has not yet been selected; no administrative building has been established so far; there is not even a rented building for the college; there are Principal, faculty and other staff members, and yet Dr. Ambedkar Law University has called for applications for admission to the three-year B.L. course.”

Pointing out that the BCI is yet to grant approval to SASTRA for starting a law college, though it has put in place the infrastructure, Prof. Sethuraman asked the BCI to ponder over “how this institution at Vellore has the approval of the BCI, and if not, how Dr. Ambedkar Law University starts a law college without the BCI’s approval at Vellore.”

He also referred to the university’s stand in the Madras High Court that even universities needed the BCI’s approval to start a law college. He requested the BCI to act fairly and accord approval to SASTRA University for the five-and three-year law degrees immediately.

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