BCI imposes Three-Year Moratorium on New Law Colleges to Curb Declining Standards

On 13 August 2025, the Bar Council of India (BCI) announced the Rules of Legal Education, Moratorium (Three-Year Moratorium) with respect to Centers of Legal Education, 2025, set to remain in force for three years. During this period, no new law colleges may be established or approved across India, and existing institutions cannot introduce new sections, courses, or batches without prior written approval from the BCI. The regulation, grounded in the Advocates Act, 1961, seeks to arrest the decline in legal education quality caused by the unchecked proliferation of substandard institutions, inadequate faculty, and commercialization of the field.

Pending applications with final-stage approvals will proceed unaffected, while conditional approvals will require fresh compliance checks. The moratorium allows limited exceptions for institutions serving socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Economically Weaker Sections, persons with disabilities, and for proposals in remote or aspirational districts, subject to stringent requirements.

The BCI reiterated its three-stage approval process:

1. Needs-based No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the State Government or competent Ministry.

2. Strict compliance verification by the affiliating university under the 2008 Rules.

3. Comprehensive BCI inspection before granting final approval.

Existing law colleges will face intensified inspections, with non-compliant institutions at risk of closure, derecognition, and sanctions. Violations could lead to withdrawal of approvals, derecognition of degrees, ineligibility for advocate enrolment, and possible disciplinary or legal action.

The Council will review the regulation annually and may extend or modify it as needed, reaffirming its commitment to quality enhancement, institutional integrity, and inclusivity in legal education.

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