A public interest litigation waged in the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) questioning the validity of LLB or Bachelor of Law degrees awarded recklessly in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has brought into focus the notoriety of such institutions.
While Justice Kirubakaran has taken a serious view of the matter and acknowledged the prevalence of dubious law colleges, the legal fraternity too is concerned that it has become easy for unscrupulous persons to obtain a law degree without attending regular classes in the neighbouring States.
Although some law colleges in the two States had been liberal in awarding degrees for several years, many candidates from Tamil Nadu started enrolling in institutions there only after the Bar Council of India brought in restrictions in the age limit (20 years for UG and 30 years for three-year degree programme) for admission in law colleges in 2009.
The law universities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had obtained a stay on the BCI’s age stipulation and admitting students in large numbers.
Also, in Tamil Nadu there are only less than 10 law colleges, whereas there are dozens of them in the two States.
“If one is willing to shell out money and enrol in these colleges, they don’t even have to attend the exams. I know many persons, who while doing a business here, have obtained the law degrees from colleges in Bangalore. Some of them are even practising in courts now,” said advocate Kalaiselvan of Coimbatore.
Many politicians and people with a shady history who prefer to add the “advocate” tag to their names prefer these colleges.
“The main reason for existence of such colleges is the interim exemption to the admission age limit granted by a High Court on petitions filed by these colleges. This interim exemption is being exploited by these colleges by virtually selling degrees,” says advocate Maniarasu.
“A few years ago, there were attempts to make attendance strict in these colleges. But soon it became business as usual,” says another advocate.
During the admission season, even the pathways around the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University campus in Chennai are filled with posters claiming to “facilitate” enrolment in law courses with no eligibility criteria in the neighbouring States.
“Get law degrees; No age bar,” the posters read. A mobile number of an “admission agent” is also given.
“The college would charge around Rs 50,000 per semester and Rs 15,000 as admission fee. All you need is an under-graduation degree, even if it has been obtained through distance education,” said an agent when this Correspondent contacted him over phone, posing as an aspiring candidate.