The total number of CLEs (Centers of Legal Education) approved by Bar Council of India (BCI) in the country during the last ten years is attached as Annexure-A.

The BCI has informed that vide circular dated 18.12.2023, it has started to take applications from the existing and new CLEs/institutions for its registration through an online portal namely, https://www.barcouncilofindia.org/user/login. It has also been notified that all pending hard copy application stands infructuous and the applicant CLEs has to apply afresh through designated portal. The BCI has further informed that total 436 fresh applications were received in the year 2023-2024, on the portal for registration and at present there is no pending application with BCI for such registration.

As per section 7(1)(h) of the Advocates Acts 1961, the BCI is mandated to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education. The BCI has informed that it has taken steps to ensure that menace of growing CLE’s across nation can be curbed. In 2015, BCI vide resolution dated 06.06.2015 requested the State Governments and Universities to restrict the issuance of No Objection Certificate (NoC) and affiliations to the law colleges for the next three years. Despite the resolution, 300 CLEs got NoC and affiliations but the BCI refused to approve the affiliation granted. Later on, after the judicial intervention, the BCI had to restart the process of approving affiliation granted to these CLEs. A fresh moratorium for a period of three years on opening of new CLEs and even new sections was imposed by BCI through resolution dated 11.08.2019 but the same was also lifted up through Press Release dated 16.06.2021 after the Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court set aside the BCI resolution imposing moratorium.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law & Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

 

 

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SB/DP/ARJ

Annexure-A.

 

Sr. No.	State	Count of State
1	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	01
2	Andhra Pradesh	05
3	Arunachal Pradesh	05
4	Assam	03
5	Bihar	10
6	Chandigarh	01
7	Chhattisgarh	11
8	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	01
9	Delhi	10
10	Gujarat	64
11	Haryana	30
12	Himachal Pradesh	08
13	Jammu & Kasmir	01
14	Jharkhand	15
15	Karnataka	32
16	Kerala	18
17	Madhya Pradesh	82
18	Maharashtra	78
19	Manipur	01
20	Meghalaya	02
21	Odisha	08
22	Puducherry	01
23	Punjab	29
24	Rajasthan	55
25	Sikkim	02
26	Tamil Nadu	23
27	Telangana	16
28	Tripura	01
29	Uttar Pradesh	319
30	Uttarakhand	14
31	West Bengal	22
	Grand Total	868

 

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