Patna Law College awaits renewal of BCI affiliation

PATNA: The 111-year-old Patna Law College, which has produced a galaxy of legal luminaries, including two chief justices and the first attorney general of India, is today unable to admit students to its LLB course for the next academic session as the Bar Council of India (BCI) has not renewed affiliation to this institution so far.
The college has been facing a rough weather owing to the alleged apathy of the authorities concerned for the last one decade.Time to time, its affiliation is withdrawn by the BCI as the college fails to fulfil the mandatory requirements for affiliation. Among other shortcomings, the college, a constituent unit of Patna University (PU), has been facing acute dearth of teachers.
The BCI had disaffiliated this institution a couple of years back owing to acute shortage of teachers, but restored it for one year ( 2019-20 session) on PU’s assurance of filling up all the vacant posts. The college has got altogether 29 posts of teachers, including 14 part-time teachers. At present the college has got only seven full-time teachers. Besides, four teachers of PU postgraduate law department also engage classes in the college.
College principal Md Sharif said a BCI team led by its chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had visited the college for inspection on February 8 this year, but its recommendation for renewal of college’s affiliation is yet to be received. As the things stand today, the BCI is unlikely to restore its affiliation as the shortcomings have not been removed till date.
PU registrar Manoj Kumar Mishra said the university has sought chancellor’s permission for the appointment of 14 part-time teachers (already advertised) through the statutory selection committee. As per earlier orders of the chancellor, an officiating VC is not allowed to take any policy decision and make any appointment in the university.
If the university gets permission for appointing the law teachers and if the appointments are made in due time, the BCI would be approached for extending its affiliation to the college, he said.
Vani Bhushan, a senior law faculty of PU, said at least seven posts of full-time teachers are also lying vacant. “These appointments are to be made by the newly constituted Bihar State University Service Commission and as such it would take a very long time. PU is facing problem even in appointing guest faculty against sanctioned posts,” he added.
PU has already started the process of admission of students to all its courses, except LLB, for the next academic session. Admission to the three-year LLB course is taken on the basis of entrance test conducted by PU. “Until the university gets a positive nod from the BCI, the process of admission to the LL B course will not be initiated,” said PU students’ welfare dean N K Jha.