The Pune Bar Association (PBA) has opposed the All India Bar India entrance test yet again saying that there is no clear Supreme Court verdict on the same.
“When the Supreme Court has given no decision as to whether LLB graduates shoud give the entrance exam for becoming arguing counsels, then how can the Bar Council of India (BCI) organise these exams,” said, PBA chairman Milind Pawar.
The BCI has gone ahead, despite of the fact that there has been no ruling from the Supreme Court, where the matter is pending and organised the examination in December.
“It seems that the law entrance exams are planned in a way to keep the common student away from legal education and make it elitist—that is why we have opposed it.
That is why the Bar Council of India (BCI) has proposed to make entrance exams mandatory for law graduates. Only those who pass these exams will be allowed to become arguing counsels,” said Milind Pawar, Chiarman of PBA.
Pawar said that as it is, after a student passes his law exams, he has to slog it out for atleast six to seven years under a senior advocate. “For the first six to seven years, he hardly gets paid, or rather he is lucky if he gets paid at all.
After he has worked as a junior for many years, he starts with a small practice. Now, the BCI has killed all the dreams of these aspiring advocates by planning another exam.
These students have already earned an LLB degree, then why do you want to make them study again?”
Mukund Sarda, Dean, faculty of law, Bharatiya Vidya Peeth University, New Law College said, “As of today, the Supreme Court has not passed a stay on the exams to be conducted by BCI.
Any examination for raising the standard of legal education is welcome. Infact, the opposition is not for the exam, but it is for the manner in which the exam is going to the conducted.”
Why the PBA is opposing the exam
Pawar said that the whole exam has been outsourced to a private organisation, so the BCI would themselves not conduct the exams.
The entrance exam would only be conducted in nine languages, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya and English. “Then why not conduct in other languages also.
Also, a fee of Rs 1,300 would be charged for the exams and students will have to go to Mumbai or Nagpur to take the exams.
What is the need of charging such high fees for the exam when the course fee for the entire year is only Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000? Why are the exams not being conducted in Pune, when it is an educational hub?,” questiond Pawar.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
SC judge exhorts students to become good lawyers
Pune, May 6: Supreme Court judge Justice V S Sirpurkar on Sunday advised lawyers to study India’s ancient legal system and its concepts of justice to become good lawyers and judges while delivering a lecture on clinical legal education, at the New Law College, Erandawane, on Sunday.
Justice Sirpurkar said the first task before a budding lawyer was to ensure that he knows the country’s past, legal heritage and principles of justice. “India has a rich tradition of over 5,000 years. Has anybody bothered to study the legal system during Chhatrapati Shivaji’s reign,” he asked.
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Justice Sirpurkar said, “Passing examinations is important, but it should only be a means to a goal. Students should not feel that wearing a gown or a black coat will make them perfect lawyers. You should equip yourselves as lawyers, learn judicial ethics, develop language skills and keen power of observation. Clinical education starts from self-education.”
The judge said, “Dr Ambedkar was our modern Manu. He was the law-giver. He was the first to study Hindu law and understood Indian texts.”
Calling upon students to become judges, Justice Sirpurkar said, “A judge is the most powerful man in the Indian judiciary. Not even the President can tell a judge to convict or acquit a person. A judge has tremendous power,” he said, urging students to visit Supreme Court, High Court and district court to look at their functioning. Justice Sirpurkar emphasised that law colleges should regularly hold legal awareness and legal literacy camps.
In his address, principal Mukund Sarda said Justice Sirpurkar was the first judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court from the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council. “It is an honour to welcome Justice Sirpurkar and his teacher A Lakshminath, vice-chancellor of the Chanakya National Law School, Patna,” he said. Lakshminath also spoke on the occasion.
Justice Sirpurkar said the first task before a budding lawyer was to ensure that he knows the country’s past, legal heritage and principles of justice. “India has a rich tradition of over 5,000 years. Has anybody bothered to study the legal system during Chhatrapati Shivaji’s reign,” he asked.
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Justice Sirpurkar said, “Passing examinations is important, but it should only be a means to a goal. Students should not feel that wearing a gown or a black coat will make them perfect lawyers. You should equip yourselves as lawyers, learn judicial ethics, develop language skills and keen power of observation. Clinical education starts from self-education.”
The judge said, “Dr Ambedkar was our modern Manu. He was the law-giver. He was the first to study Hindu law and understood Indian texts.”
Calling upon students to become judges, Justice Sirpurkar said, “A judge is the most powerful man in the Indian judiciary. Not even the President can tell a judge to convict or acquit a person. A judge has tremendous power,” he said, urging students to visit Supreme Court, High Court and district court to look at their functioning. Justice Sirpurkar emphasised that law colleges should regularly hold legal awareness and legal literacy camps.
In his address, principal Mukund Sarda said Justice Sirpurkar was the first judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court from the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council. “It is an honour to welcome Justice Sirpurkar and his teacher A Lakshminath, vice-chancellor of the Chanakya National Law School, Patna,” he said. Lakshminath also spoke on the occasion.
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