Amid the reports of thousands of applications pending for the BCI - Bar Council of India recognition, students from Ahmedabad’s D T Law College filed a writ petition in the Gujarat High Court over the lack of legal recognition from the council.

In the writ petition filed by the students of D T Law College, Advocate Bhunesh Rupere argued that the petitioners had completed their graduation from Navgujarat Campus affiliated with Gujarat University and subsequently enrolled in D T Law College for their LLB degree.

After completing the three-year LLB course, the petitioners applied for a provisional certificate from the Gujarat Bar Council. However, they were not issued the certificate because it was revealed that D T Law College had not received BCI recognition since 2011 and had not paid the necessary fees for it. 

Consequently, the lack of BCI recognition has delayed the issuance of provisional certificates for the students. Without these certificates, the petitioners are unable to gain provisional practice or experience as lawyers.

In the hearing, Justice Sangeeta Vishen issued notices to the state's Law Secretary, Gujarat University, the Bar Council of India, the Bar Council of Gujarat, and the principal of D T Law College, demanding their responses.

Justice Hasmukh Kella, former Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Gujarat Bar Council, stated that due to the lack of BCI recognition, there are around a thousand provisional certificate applications pending.

The law colleges are required to obtain BCI recognition and must pay an annual inspection fee. 

After paying the fee, BCI conducts an inspection and verification before granting recognition. However, more than 28 law colleges in the state do not have BCI recognition, which has led to the backlog of provisional certificate applications for students.

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