The Supreme Court will hear in April a petition filed regarding the establishment of a Law Education Commission to reform the legal education system and make the LLB course of four years instead of five after class 12th.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi considered the arguments given by lawyer and public interest petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay. He requested the constitution of a commission of eminent jurists to review and determine the curriculum of legal studies in India.
Ashwini Upadhyay said in the petition filed through advocate Ashwini Dubey that in many countries the LLB course after class 12th is of four years, whereas here it is of five years and it lacks practical knowledge. Ashwini Upadhyay said that the commission should include prominent jurists and experts, who can review the existing structure of legal education and prepare a more effective curriculum.
He argued that the current five-year integrated law curriculum has failed to attract the best talent and requires structural reforms.
Chief Justice Surya Kant said, ‘Providing legal education is one issue and the quality of legal education is another issue, but this PIL is good. However, talented people are coming…one objection may be regarding practical education. The institution that started the five-year course was not NSLIU (National Law School of India University) in Bengaluru, but MD (Maharishi Dayanand) University of Rohtak (Haryana).’
Sharing his experience, the Chief Justice said, ‘The first batch from Rohtak was in 1982 or 1983. By the time I left from there (after studying), it was already the third batch. “But, the judiciary is not the only stakeholder,” he said. We cannot impose our views. Academics, jurists, bar associations, social and policy researchers etc. are also present…they should also discuss this. It should be listed in April 2026.
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