LEGAL EDUCATION IN

INDIA: AN
ASTONISHMENT IF
NOT HORROR
---------o---------

A Monograph

LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA: AN

ASTONISHMENT IF NOT HORROR

By- Shivaraj S. Huchhanvar1 and Kavita

S. Belagali2

Research Fellow, National Judicial Academy of India,

Bhopal
2

Faculty of Law, K.L.E. Societys Law College, Chikodi

We thank our friends Mr. Rupam Lal Howlader, UGC NETJRF, Research Scholar, Calcutta University and Mr. Amit
Kumar Akela, UGC NET-JRF, Research Scholar, Patna
University who provided their insights and suggested
meaningful amendments that greatly added the value to
this work, although they may not agree with all of the
interpretations/conclusions we have drawn.
We thank our colleagues Mr. Sumit Bhattacharya, Mr.
Milind Gawai, Ms. Paiker Nasir and Yogesh Pratap Singh,
Research Fellows, National Judicial Academy for their
comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

ii

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be

reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any from, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise) without the prior permission of the publisher.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claim for damages.
Copyright Shivaraj S. Huchhanavar and Kavita S.
Belagali
Printed by: CreateSpace
ISBN-13: 978-1530800513
Printed in India
First print April 2016
All rights reserved.
Cover design, texts and illustrations: copyright
Shivaraj S. Huchhanavar and Kavita S. Belagali

iii

He indeed must be blind who does not see that,

mighty as are the political changes, far deeper
are the fundamental questions which will be
decided by what happens in the universities.
Everything is being brought to the test of reason,
venerable

theologies,

ancient

political

institutions, time-honoured social arrangements,

a thousand things which a generation ago looked
as fixed as the hills. If India is to confront the
confusion of our time, she must turn for
guidance, not to those who are lost in the mere
exigencies of the passing hour, but to her men of
letters, and men of science, to her poets and
artists, to her discoverers and inventors. These
intellectual pioneers of civilization are to be
found and trained in the universities, which are
the sanctuaries of the inner life of the nation.
-The University Education Commission (194849)3

Chapter-II, Aims of University Education, p.28.

Available at:
http://www.teindia.nic.in/files/reports/ccr/Report%20o
f%20the%20University%20Education%20Commission.pdf
visited on: 27/08/2015 at: 23:26

iv

If the standards in the law colleges are poor and

if the enrolment of an untrained graduate is
automatic as it is the position now, the burden on
the subordinate and higher judiciary for
rendering justice, becomes, and has indeed
become, very heavy. The justice delivery system
for the litigant public depends for its quality and
quickness on the quality of the lawyer. The legal
process involves the pleadings, the steps taken up
to trial of the case, the trial involving evidence of
witnesses, effective cross examination, deep
study into facts and law and their analysis at the
time of arguments. Today, there is a big gap
between what the profession is expected to do in
these areas and what it is actually able to do. This
basic defect can be traced to inadequate legal
education and entry of ill-equipped persons into
the profession.
-Committee on Reforms in Legal Education and
Entry into Legal Profession4

Quoted by Dr. J.S. Patil in Report on Karnataka State

Law University, p. 26, available at:
http://www.kslu.ac.in/pdf_files/KSLU%20History.pdf,
visited on: 03/03/2016 at: 1:14 PM

vi

vii

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

x-xvii

SETTING THE CONTEXT

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

1-6
7-113

SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES OF
POST-GRADUATE EDUCATION
AND RESEARCH

114-135

WAY AHEAD

136-143

viii

ix

PROLOGUE
It is claimed that, institutions, associations and
other

incorporated

personalities

are

the

facilitators of better life to the mankind. It was

presupposed that institutionalization takes better
care of individual and community interests.
Since long, with a view to facilitate the
institutionalization, individuals interests were
reconciled

with

interest

institutional/community

of

interests.

the
As

consequence today, the institutions stand as an

inseparable part of individual, associational and
national life. Every country with least exception
constitutionalized

important

institutions,

converted some into statutory bodies and few

others left with certain degree of autonomy with
the private individuals. In this perspective it will
not be wrong to say that man is not only social
and political but also institutional animal.
By their nature incorporated legal entities like

institutions
authoritative,

are
and

more
in

dominant

comparison

and
to

an

institution, individual is more vulnerable.

Individuals vulnerability is partly because of his
(in modern days) accomplishment and fulfilment

of

needs

substantially

dependent

on

institutional co-operation. It is quite evident now

that the agency of State i.e. government is
shouldered on incorporated entities, we have
corporatized/institutionalized
corporatized

economy,

democracy,

corporatized

food,

corporatized services, corporatized government

and most importantly corporatized education.
One of the great contributions of British rule in
India is introduction of institutionalization,
giving structural shape to the social institutions,
in pre-British India, undoubtedly there were
structured system,

but were limited to

administration of State (sovereign functions) and

certainly not so often used to meet private goals
of members of the community, like the East India
Company. Inevitably after Independence, India
choose to go with British establishments.
Consequently today, from constitutional organs
to the post-office, including universities, we are
living in and with colonial setups.
Constitutional framers perhaps rightly assumed
that, if the existing set-ups are manned by
Indians, the same exploitative positions/offices
5

In other words Normative structures

xi

will work as benevolent guardians of the

illiterate, poor and the destitute. The same
hypothesis is carried on by post-constitutional
legislatures in India. But, till date it has not been
visualised by law and policy makers of India,
those pre-independence institutional set-ups
say- legislature, executive, judiciary, police,
universities,

post-offices,

railway,

communication and transport, and other related

improvements made by British were mainly to
facilitate and extend their rule in India.
Legislature was formed with view to showcase
that there is inclusion of Indians in law making;
at the same time they (British) devised
mechanism to suppress the voices of native
peoples representatives. Executives (Governors
and Ministers) were armed with extensive power
so that it can overcome the freedom movements
by all possible means. Judiciary was used as a tool
to administer the injustice in the name of justice
and rule of law. Institutions like Universities
were established to destroy native Indian
education system and to anglicize the black
Indians6 into black British, all other services and
transport systems are built to loot India. To meet
6

Writers are brown; readers can take it as per their colour!

xii

these (il)legitimate ends of colonial government

in India they had established many institutional
set-ups, and to execute their plan it was
necessary for them to create such institutions
wherein the person composing it shall have
sweeping clauses of power so that he can
effectively (mis)use it. This aspect of British
establishment need not be pressed as it an
established fact, but what is left unrealized by
Indians up till now is- British ruled India not just
physically

and

politically,

they

ruled

us

ideologically, culturally, psychologically and

intellectually.
We, Indians attained independence in 1947 from
patent and perceivable vulnerabilities, but till
date we are being enslaved ideologically,
culturally, psychologically and intellectually.
Physical vulnerability can be felt with least
difficulty; intellectual vulnerability cannot be so
easily felt, because the very eyes through which
we suppose to see our vulnerability- are

corrupted, when we have jaundiced eyes, it is

hard to recognise that the world is composed of
so many colours. To feel the intellectual
enslavement one must attain the clear vision (at
the least, one must have good glasses!).
xiii

What is intolerable is, out of ignorance we went

on imitating/aping foreign culture and ideology.
To stamp the foolishness of Indians, the
Constitution of India is res ipsa loquitur, it
declares India is SECULAR. Before answering the
question whether India is secular or not, we have
to consider whether Indian Constitution, the
basis of whole legal and political order, is
secular.

Whether

the

sonata

of

Indian

constitution or the ideologies, fundamentals and

political theory based on it constitution is framed
are areligious (devoid of any religion). First
reading of the constitution implies that Indian
Constitution is substantially CHRISTIAN.
Look at the whole establishment- the philosophy
and jurisprudence underlying it, diagnose the
underpinnings of every institutional structure of
India- they are truly Christian. Nation is ruled by
ideology of one religion and many call it as
secular- what an absurdity! India is the country,
where, may be people are secular but not the
constitution and the organs established there
under.7

Let us elaborate it, in India (as its history stands) State

need not be devoid of religion, it is the responsibility of the
ruler to foster every religion. Fostering includes taking

xiv

affirmative action to strengthen the roots and beliefs of all

religion. In simpliciter, State shall be sarvadharmiya
(adjective of Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava); protector and
facilitator of all religion, without discrimination. It means
State shall take affirmative steps to foster all the religions;
it is duty of the State to do so. Whereas, the term secular as
it stands in our constitution it is purely negative term, it
says State shall not discriminate on the basis of religion,
State shall treat all the religion equally, etc. (Mark Galanter
has explained it better, so we will not dwell unnecessarily)
but what is missing is, positive duty of the State. According
to Indian culture it is the duty of the State to take all the
steps (without discrimination) to promote and further all
the religions. Unfortunately, in India it is the layman
(majority) who adhere these principles and not the State.
This is because, the very Constitution is not grounded in
Indian culture, (whereas people knowingly or
unknowingly following it as matter of their culture) and it
has stopped where European jurisprudence stopped.
Europeans (Anglo-saxon jurisprudence) are and were
ignorant of Indian culture; it is natural that they will not
conceive the idea which is beyond their contemplation!
This is the reason why if the Government declares (flight)
concession for Hajj pilgrimage, or Kedarnath Yatra, some
half-baked politicians and academician term it as antisecular agenda of the government. Unless the concession is
in violation of Art. 14 i.e. discriminatory, it cannot be
termed as anti-secular (the same is settled rule is Indian
constitutional jurisprudence so far). But, amiss is
constitutional duty of the State to take affirmative action
for the betterment of all religion. The negative concept of
secularism comes into play only when the acts of State are
discriminatory, if State chooses not to act then there is
nothing that obliges the State to work for the betterment of
all religion. India without religiousness is like sea without
water. Had the Constitution of India is made on the basis
Indian culture irrespective of ideology of particular
religion, there would not have been such constricted
meaning to the word secular. As we have said in the
beginning, the concept of secularism is just an example
for anti-secular origin of the Constitution of India, to the
impartial observer, anti-secular undercurrents of
Constitution are evident. You take any basic concept; say
fundamental right, the DPSPs, system of governance,
judiciary etc. trace out its origin, influence of one religion
is self-evident. Why the basic document is not made on the

xv

By reading these generalizations certainly reader

will feel unsettled, may be for different reasons.
One out such reasons would be, these
basis secularism? In spite of Constitutional fallacies how
the society (Indian) managed to maintain the true spirit of
secularism? etc. are outside the scope of this work. The
unwanted efforts to convince the reader about
constitutional misconceptions were made with view to
unsettle the settled preconceptions about the system or
basis of it. The reality is, we take the things for granted
without challenging its groundings. Indianization of the
Constitution, normative structures like Universities, Legal
education centres is must for bright India. As nation we
cant go on imitating others, as nation we cant walk long
on alien jurisprudence, as a nation we cannot allow
implantation of alien system just because it has worked
wonders there. A nation cannot be replica of another, just
as son/daughter are not Photostat of the parents! Like
science, originality and authenticity is also important in the
philosophy on which a country is governed and shaped.
Vision drives the nation; the constitution is the vision
document of the nation, how good it is to derive our vision
from others. It is like father advising son to become like
Sachin Tendulkar, knowing little about the interest of his
child and what he really aspires to become. These
generalizations not only applies to the constitution, it
applies to every aspect of national and individual life, take
the example of concept of development, are we aspire to be
a developed nation like USA, it consumes natural
resource16 times more than a developing like India. If,
India is set for such destructive development, is that sort of
development really worth attaining? Not at all. It is the time
wherein World is looking at India for guidance, expecting
India to be a pathfinder, a saviour, are we really ready for
this role? Blind imitation of others makes us followers not
pathfinders. Bhagwat Gita says, let the good thought come
from all the directions. It does not mean we must apply that
good thought without looking into its practical feasibility
and implications. More importantly, a good thought to an
individual, may he be well educated, constitutional maker,
law giver, may not be good for the ordinary citizens,
aspirations of the people (general will) is the decisive factor
not learnedness of an individual or a group of individuals
or a good thought prevailed in other country.

xvi

generalizations have nothing to do with title of

the work, yet authors are unnecessarily putting
your patience to test! Well, it deliberate- this
picturization of our ignorance is necessary.
Addressing readers:
The issues dealt in this very concise work are
certainly very serious and they require extensive
and deep sighted research- authors aimed to
cover various bottlenecks with which legal
education in India is suffering. This work is
deliberately made concise, for the reason that,
matter dealt herein is very important, readers
needs to be accommodated with brief write-up so
that they can finish it in one go. Another reason
is, the moment we discuss too much about the
problem its rigorousness loses the sight, and thus
without incarcerating the readers in jargon,
authors have elucidated the problems of legal
education and proposed solutions to overcome
the identified problems in brief.
(i) The salient features of the work are- authors
have spotted few problems associating with legal
education centers, and these problems are felt
and faced by the authors and are not hearsay- it
is experience based discourse, except solutions
xvii

offered to the problems, nothing is visualized.

We have not tried to make the Mount Everest out
of mole hill! And at the same time we have not
tried to reduce the Mount Everest to the mole hill.
(ii)

Problems are spotted with least bias and

also not on the basis of pre-conceived notions,

and without any institutional vengeances,
anonymity of few institutions discussed in this
work is not maintained with hope that the
observation made against those institution shall
pass on to them, and hopefully this work will
encourage them to bring needed changes in their
set-ups.
(iii) To a reader it may appear that authors only
spotted black-spots and have not talked about
positive developments in independent India,
especially in legal education. The whole
revelation undercurrent in this work is to
contribute for the overall growth of the legal
education, reason being so, we thought the first
step towards the problem solving would be
identifying the problems and appreciating them
in the right dimension.
(iv) If the readers are having fair idea about the
legal education of India, they may skip reading
xviii

first part (setting the context), but one should be

very cautious while reading the succeeding
parts, and authors are of view that things written
in footnotes are equally relevant and important.
With view to maintain free flow of issues dealt,
we have pushed some important information and
suggestions to footnotes, but it is advised to read
footnote text for the correct appreciation of views
presented.
(v) Some of the very important issues likeproblem

surrounding

National

Law

recently

Universities

are

established
not

dealt

extensively in this work, as authors does not

believe

in

arm

chaired

philosophy,

the

environment of which we are not having firsthand experience is inevitably left untouched and
we invite interested researchers having exposure
to the National Law Universities environment to
come up with their experiences and impartial
observations

xix

I.
SETTING THE CONTEXT
Initially British rule in India (1726) established law courts
in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, 8 with establishment of
these law courts, there arose the need of legal practitioners
i.e. pleaders. In early days of British Raj, as such there was
no proper qualification prescribed for the pleaders. But with
passing of Regulating Act, 1773 9 , large scale need for
8

Although, prior to colonial rule there were no evidence of

institutionalised professional legal education but legal representation
and practice in one or other form exist in ancient India. The University
Education Commission briefs the history of Legal Education in India as
under, [T]he early teaching of law was carried on at the Calcutta
Madrasah and the Banaras Sanskrit College where Muslim and Hindu
Laws were respectively studied. Macaulay referred to the teaching of law
in his famous Minute, and a few years later, a Committee was asked to
report how studies connected with Jurisprudence might be introduced
into the superior colleges. In 1842 a Professorship was created in the
Hindu College but after a first course of lectures by a distinguished
Advocate-General no appointment was made till 1847, when the post
was again sanctioned. A few years later the Council of Education decided
that Law should have a place in the annual Examination for Senior
Scholarships and the Law Class was organised on a permanent footing
in 1855. The same year a Professorship of Law was sanctioned at the
Madras Institution and a Professorship of Jurisprudence created at the
Elphinstone
College
in
Bombay.
Available
at:
http://www.teindia.nic.in/files/reports/ccr/Report%20of%20the%20
University%20Education%20Commission.pdf at p. 14 visited on:
27/08/2015 at: 21:59
9

A Supreme Court was established in Fort William in Bengal on 26 th

March, 1774, under the Kings Charter. The Charter empowered the
Supreme Court to approve, admit and enrol such and so many advocates
and attorneys to appear and plead and act for the suitors at law court.
These so called advocates were English, Irish Barristers, Members of the
Faculty of Advocates in Scotland; the Attorneys referred to were the

Advocates cropped up in Supreme Courts established under

this Act. For the first time, the Bengal Regulation VII of 1793
established regular legal profession for the law courts of East
India Company.
The subsequent Bengal Regulation, XXVII of 1814, extended
the power of Sudder Dewani Adalat to Provincial Courts and
it further empowered the pleaders to act as arbitrators and
provide legal advice for fee. The profession gained
momentum in the first half of the 19th century by virtue of
the Bengal Regulation XII of 1833 and the Legal
Practitioners Act, 1846, which allowed persons with
prescribed qualifications to enrol as pleaders irrespective of
their nationality and religion.10 Subsequently High Court
Judicatures were authorised to admit, approve and enrol
Advocates, Pleaders and Attorneys as it may deem fit.
Admittedly, though the need of professionally competent
Advocates was long felt, during British Raj there was no
well-organized legal education. Initially, it was two years
LL.B programme was put in place and in the legal education
centres of those days, regularly irregular students were
taught largely by way of lecture method. Attendance would
be taken but never enforced. Students used to study only

British attorneys and solicitors, and Indian pleaders etc. are not allowed
to appear.
10

Available at:
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/1264
9/7/07_chapter%203.pdf p. 69 visited on 08/06/2015 at: 22:41

abbreviated pamphlets and everyone used cribs and aids to

pass the examinations. 11 Indian University Commission
1902 in its report observed that, the greatest evil from
which the system of University Education in India suffers is
that teaching is subordinate to examination and not
examination to teaching.12
Thus, the history of legal education during British period
reveals lack of seriousness in offering quality legal
education. There is no unified legal education system
prevailing during this period. Several differences in the
duration of the course, subjects taught and even the
eligibility to undertake law course made legal education
ineffective. This dismal picture of Legal Education in India
continued even after independence.13
According to Law Commission of India (14th Report) in
1955-56 there were 7 Law Departments and 36 Law
Colleges with 2866 students (in law departments) and
17923 (in law colleges) and 856 students in LL.M.
Programme, all-over India. Many of the colleges were taken
up 2 years LL.B. Programme. 14 But working of these
institution was no less than worse, Law Commission of India
in its report, painted a bleak picture of the standards of legal

11

Ibid at 70

12

14th Law Commission of India Report p.535

Available at:
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12649/7/07_ch
apter%203.pdf, visited on 17/03/2016 at 5:02 PM
14 Ibid at p. 554
13

education: There are already a plethora of LL.B. half-baked

lawyers, who do not know even the elements of law and who
are let loose upon the society as drones and parasites in
different parts of the country... several of them did not know
what subjects are prescribed either first or second [year] of
LL.B.; did not know the names of books prescribed; did not
know the sight of the books, because they had not seen them
and assert cheerfully that all they had done was cram the
lectures notes... [This] is indeed as sad state of affairs and
must be corrected at an early date.15
This austere image of legal education in India even after 68
years of Independence, certainly not even changed from
worse to bad. The Indian legal profession today consists of
approximately 12 lakhs registered advocates, around 1,200
law schools and approximately 4-5 lakh law students
admitted across the country. 16 Every year, approximately
60,000 70,000 law graduates have been joining the legal
profession in India. 17 But qualitatively legal education has
not improved much, privatisation and globalization in some
quarters brought lucrative changes but overall picture

15

Ibid at p. 524

16

In 2008, it was recorded that there were, 740 institutions offering

legal education and 40,000 law students graduating every year and
10,20,000 lawyers registered, India has the second largest number of
lawyers in the world, second only to the United States. Available at:
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12649/7/07_ch
apter%203.pdf visited on: 17/3/2016 at: 5:22 PM.
17 Bar Council of India, Vision Statement- 2011-13, available at:
http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/about/about-the-bar-council-ofindia/vision-statement-2011-13/ visited on: 09/06/2015 at: 19:51

remains the same. Law colleges/schools with few exceptions

still imparting information rather than developing critical
understanding, professional skills and much needed social
values.
Dr. N. R. Madhava Menon, a distinguished jurist, pioneer of
legal education in India, with special reference to state of
Karnataka, wrote about the conditions of law colleges as
under:In Karnataka which is the only State in Southern India
with large number of Law Colleges most of which are run
by private individuals or institutions, unlimited admission
is the rule. As the neighbouring States of Kerala, Tamil
Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have limited seats and
admission is selective, many of the degree-seekers from
these States rush to Karnataka Law Colleges and take
admission, some after paying varying amounts of what is
called capitation fee. Attendance being not very strict,
many of these so-called students manage to complete the
course without having to stay in Karnataka excepting
perhaps on a few occasions... Inspection reports of some of
these law colleges indicate that many of them have no fulltime teachers at all, have very few books in their libraries,
and have no teacher with post-graduate qualification, no
building of its own, no adequate furniture and no
admission policy. Some of them are found to have engaged
local lawyers as teachers for a salary of less than Rs. 200

per month. Some of the colleges do not work even for two
hours in the evenings.18

To second the views of Prof. Menon, we would like to record

the views of Marc Galanter (renowned professor and jurist),
who wrote about legal education in India as under,Admission to law colleges is more or less unrestricted.
The law colleges are crowded with students who have
neither a professional nor a scholarly interest in the
subject; only a small proportion goes on to practice...19
On the one hand we face a prosperous future as a
country with a growing economy and the aspirations of a
billion Indians unleashed upon the world. On the other we
see massive inequalities, shortfalls in education/health
/infrastructure, delivery of justice and various other ills
moving at a similar pace. In such a scenario, the need for
a stronger, more robust and ethically driven legal
profession in India cannot be overemphasized.20

In this milieu, this concise work aims at optimistically assess

the black spots in the system, it is evident that not all such
spots can spotted individually, yet authors analytically
generalised their personal experiences.

18

Justice K. Chandru, Legal Profession and Appointment of Judges,

(2015), at p. 18. See also, Legal Education for Professional
Responsibility-Indian Bar Review, Volume XIII, 1986, p. 436 to 447)
19 Supra note, 16 at p. 19 and see also, Competing Equalities, Law and
the Backward classes in India by Marc Galanter, Oxford University
Press, p. 514 and 515
20 Ibid, at p.20