Q : Which are the best colleges to do law in distance education with a genuine certificate in India?
Ans :
None. (For LLB)
There are no BCI approved distance education LLB courses in India.
If you wish to pursue distance education in other Law areas or Certification courses, there are quite a few colleges; and as long as the subject is in-line with what you wish to study and the fees are reasonable, the college / institute does not matter.
Q : If we take BIPC after 10th, what is our next option?
Ans :
I guess you are from Andhra Pradesh / Telangana ?
The BiPC / MPC conundrum is common for students from AP / TG.
In Karnataka**, +2 in the science stream is PCMB, which increases the graduation options.
If you take up BiPC – the options would be Medical / Dental / BSc ; but many Universities also allow students to take up BCom / BA / BBA – even if you are from a science stream in +2 OR any Diploma Courses (Since Diploma admissions are based on 10th marks)
If you take up MPC – the options would be Engineering / BSc and BCom / BA / BBA / Diploma courses
To summarize – While all other graduation streams / Diploma courses are open to students with either options, the only key differentiator is that MPC students can take up Engineering; but not Medical / Dental. Whereas, BiPC students can take up Medical / Dental; but not Engineering.
** Karnataka +2 syllabus has PCMB – so students can choose their graduation stream after +2, not after 10th.
BiPC = Biology + Physics + Chemistry
MPC = Mathematics + Physics + Chemistry
PCMB = Physics + Chemistry + Maths + Biology
Q : I completed 3 yrs LLB from Mumbai university, is it necessary to give All India bar exam if I want to work in a law firm?
Ans :
This is an extract from a post we had published a while ago on
Q : What can we expect from the AIBE in 2017?
Ans :
The next AIBE – XI has been scheduled for June . Registration process has commenced on the All India Bar Examination official website. Updating this old answer
This article should provide some pointers on the AIBE exam, what to expect and how to prepare :
Q : How do I prepare for bar exam in India?
Ans :
I answered a similar question on a website a while ago. This is a copy-paste from that answer. (and updated for )
A couple of months ago we had published a post titled,
Q : What is the best preparation course for the All India Bar Exam?
Ans :
A few months ago we had published a post titled,
Q : How can I get Rajasthan state bar council membership?
Ans :
If you have completed your LLB during / after the Academic Year 2009 – 10, you will have to enroll with your State Bar Council and get the enrollment certificate before taking up the AIBE – All India Bar Examination.
(If you have graduated before the academic year 2009 – 10, you just need to enroll with your State Bar Council and start practicing; no need to take the AIBE)
Contact the Bar Council of Rajasthan (Address & website mentioned below) and submit the forms + the prescribed fees.
I would suggest getting the printed forms from the Council office and clarifying about the documentation, fees etc. in person.
Bar Council of Rajasthan
High Court Building
Jodhpur – 342005
Rajasthan
Phone: +91 (291) 2545066
Official Website:
Q : How many bar councils are there in india?
Ans :
There are 20* State Bar Councils in India + the Bar Council of India.
* Currently there is no Jammu & Kashmir State Bar Council, the functions and powers of the Bar Council are vested in the High Court.
So technically you can say that there are 19 State Bar Councils + the BCI.
The complete list of Bar Councils is on this link :
Q : What is the process to enroll in the Maharashtra Bar Council?
Ans :
If you have completed your LLB during / after the Academic Year 2009 – 10, you will have to enroll with your State Bar Council and get the enrollment certificate before taking up the AIBE – All India Bar Examination.
(If you have graduated before the academic year 2009 – 10, you just need to enroll with your State Bar Council and start practicing; no need to take the AIBE)
Contact the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and submit the forms + the prescribed fees.
The forms are also available on their website; but I would suggest getting the printed forms from the Council office and clarifying about the documentation, fees etc. in person.
Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa
2nd Floor, High Court Extension, Fort,
Mumbai- 400032.
Phone: +91 (22) 22656567, 22677508
Email:
Q : What is enrollment as per AIBE?
Ans :
Enrollment = Registration with your State Bar Council as a Practicing advocate.
To become a Practicing Advocate in India :
(1) Complete LLB
(2) Enroll with state Bar council – get a Enrollment Certificate.
(3) Start practice as an Advocate
(4) Apply for the AIBE – with the State Bar Council Enrollment details.
(4) Clear the All India Bar Exam – AIBE within two years of enrollment
(5) If unable to clear – stop practice as a Advocate – continue to attempt AIBE and clear it.
(6) Resume practice as a lawyer.
You can contact your State Bar Council for the details of the registration / enrollment process.
Check out this article for further details & Contact addresses of the Bar Councils in India.
Q : What is the address of the State Bar Council of Chhattisgarh?
Ans :
Bar Council of Chhattisgarh
New High Court Premises
Above Advocates Room, Bodri
Bilaspur – 495001
Chhattisgarh
Phone: +91 (7752) 510169, 410169, 413500
* The Phone numbers may have been changed.
We had recently published a list of all the State Bar Councils in India, where students can enrol, before taking up the All India Bar Exam (AIBE)
The complete list is here :
Q : For law employment, is it best to go to a law school or do an LLB at a university?
Ans :
** This answer if from an Indian context.
Go to a Law School . . .
The key difference is that Law Schools normally have a placement process and tie-ups with companies which pick up fresh grads from campus.
Most colleges that are affiliated to Universities may not have a placement office.
(There are exceptions; usually the tier-1 / tier-2 private law colleges have placement cells, since it is one of their marketing points.)
While you can surely get employed wherever you complete your law degree from (subject to your scores + interview performance etc.); the advantage with going through a placement process is that it is more streamlined.
Companies usually come to campus with some ball-park number that they want to hire; and the pool of competition is limited to the students attending the process at that time.
Note: This answer is purely from a ‘employment’ perspective. When it comes to quality of academics / faculty / peers; there are excellent University Law colleges which are on par with the premier law schools.
Q : What are the ways to pay the fees of the top B schools if a student is poor?
Ans :
Education Loan.
All the top B-Schools have tie-ups with a few banks (both private and public sector banks) to provide loans to students – normally covering almost the entire fee + living expenses; without collateral.
The loans come with a moratorium of 6 months to 1 year after graduation – giving students time to find a job, settle down a bit and then start paying the installments.
Personally, I find SBI’s student loans to be quite transparent and flexible. (You can keep paying back any additional amount at any time to clear the loans, no hidden charges and paper-work also was quite simple.)
Also, the entire interest paid on education loans is deductible from your income while calculating taxes.
Link :
Q : Can we do a distance LLB, which is approved by the bar council of India?
Ans :
No
The Bar Council of India (BCI) does not recognize any distance or part-time LLB degrees.
If you enroll into any ‘distance LLB’, the degree will not be useful for practicing as an advocate.
You will have to enroll into a regular college for your LLB.
Q : How do I apply for an LLB (3 year programme) after TY B.Com apart from the CLAT?
Ans :
Just go to the college and collect the application forms 🙂
Somehow, there seems to be perception that admission to LLB is always via an entrance exam. This is not true.
If you are ok with doing your LLB from a regular Tier 3 or even some Tier 2 Law Colleges, the admission process is as simple as submitting the application forms and paying the fees.
This is for both 5 year and 3 year LLB programs – BCI & UGC recognized.
Admissions in most Tier-3 Law Colleges is on a first-come-first-admitted basis; subject to you meeting the minimum age and graduation marks criteria.
Only Tier 1 & Tier 2 colleges normally have admission tests, personal interviews etc. and higher cut-off marks. Some may also use CLAT scores as the entrance criteria.
The National Law Schools use the CLAT as the entrance exam.
Note: There are no BCI recognized distance or part-time LLB programs in India at this time. (Oct 2017)
Q : Can I do a BA LLB from home?
Ans :
This answer is in the context of a BA LLB in India
No
The Bar Council of India (BCI) does not recognize any distance or part-time LLB degrees. If you enroll into any ‘distance LLB’, the degree will not be useful for practicing as an advocate.
You will have to enroll into a regular college for your LLB.
BA LLB or Integrated LLB is a 5 year course.
LLB alone is a 3 year course and a BA (regular / distance) is also a 3 year course.
Since LLB is a ‘Higher Degree’ program, you have to be a Graduate in any stream before taking admission. (For 5 year LLB, you have to have completed 10 + 2)
If attending college full-time for 5 years is a challenge, you can take up your BA degree via correspondence from a UGC recognized University and enroll in full-time LLB post completing your BA.
Though you will end up spending 6 years (3 for BA + 3 for LLB), you will be attending college only for 3 years.
Is there an entrance exam for all LLB admissions ?
No.
There are 100’s of law colleges across India, which are affiliated to various Universities and are recognized by the BCI.
In most Tier 3 colleges, admission is on a first come – first admitted basis; as long as you meet the minimum criteria in terms of age and graduation marks.
(They can have 100+ seats approved; which do not get filled up every year.)
In Tier 2 / Tier 1 colleges – admission can be based on your graduation marks + personal interviews.
In some Tier 2 / Tier 1 colleges, they will have an entrance exam OR they will use CLAT marks as the selection criteria.
The National Law Schools use the CLAT as the entrance exam.
Q : How many times All India bar council exam is held in a year?
Ans :
At least once in a year; ideally twice in a year . . .
I had written a post about this question about a month before the announcement of the AIBE 11 came out.
Over the past few years, the AIBE has been an annual exercise. In fact, it was getting a little confusing about the way the exams were being named / tracked.
If it was meant to be an annual exercise, BCI could just have called it AIBE 2011, AIBE 2012 etc.
But the naming convention goes like AIBE I, AIBE II . . . AIBE XI. This makes it more convenient to track the exam if it is held multiple times in a year.
When we read the original FAQs and the notifications for kicking off the AIBE; we see that it was intended to be held multiple times in a year. The first couple of Exams were held within a short time-span. It was only from around 2011 when the exam became an annual affair.
In any case, BCI seems to have started moving towards a December & June schedule from onwards.
What if it held only once every year ?
Students will get one ~ two chances to take the exam, during the two year grace period for practicing without clearing AIBE.
What if it is held twice every year ?
Students will get up to four chances to clear the exam without interrupting their practice.
The article I am referring to :
Q : I am very desperate to know that after completing my 5 year BA LLB course from a university in India, what do I have to do to get to a law firm in the United States of America?
Ans :
A difficult path ahead . . .
While I can write an answer that is a couple of thousand words long explaining why it is very difficult / very expensive, let me summarize as briefly as possible.
- To practice as a lawyer in the US, you need to clear the US Bar exams – Multi State Bar Exam & State Bar Exam.
- To be eligible to take the Bar Exam, you need to have a US LLB / US recognized LLB.
- While there is a rule that foreign law degree holders can submit their current degree for evaluation / recognition as equivalent to a US LLB, from what I have seen / understood, it doesn’t work for Indian LLB degrees.
- Indian LLB degree holders are required to complete a US LLM program to ‘cure the deficiencies’ (full-time, in the US, not via distance) to be eligible to take the Bar Exam.
- Even if your get a waiver and are allowed to take the US Bar with just your Indian LLB, you may still need to take up LLM to make the grade for employment there.
- If you have decent academics, getting admission into a US LLM should be possible.
- But the cost of a full-time one year LLM in the US will be around INR 40 ~ 60 Lakhs.
- After completing your LLM, you will need to take up the Bar Exams and then the subsequent steps to practice / seek employment.
Is it impossible ? No.
Is it difficult ? Yes.
Is it expensive ? Yes.
If you have some reason to go and stay in the US for a long duration, then you can surely explore the options of taking up a US Law degree. At least the cost of stay and other expenses is taken care of.
Though tuition fees are high, you should try for some grants / scholarships to offset part of the cost.
Can I take up a US Distance LLB / LLM ? – Nope.
Distance LLB / LLM are not recognized for Bar Exam eligibility.
More reading material for you :
Q : Should I get the bar council of state registration with low graduation marks?
Ans :
Marks No Bar 🙂
Your LLB graduation marks are no bar to enrolling with your
Q : What is judicial overreach?
Ans :
The three wise men . . .
The Indian Government consists of three main components – the Legislative, Executive, Judiciary.
The roles and remits of the three arms are quite clearly demarcated. However, there is scope for a certain amount of overlap.
There is also a ‘maker-checker’ kind of a concept built into the system. e.g. When the Legislative makes a law, the Judiciary can question it’s constitutional validity or the Executive can ask for changes based on the implementation challenges.
Coming to your question, let us consider three scenarios . . .
If a new law is passed or an existing law is amended by the Legislative, the Judiciary can review the same to ascertain its legality & constitutional validity. This is called Judicial Review.
There are several cases where the Judiciary has taken cognizance of complaints or grievances as Public Interest Litigation (especially in situations regarding environmental protection.) The Judiciary then has proceeded to order the Legislative or Executive arms to take certain actions – this is Judicial Activism.
Then there are situations where the Judiciary oversteps it’s remit and tries to take over the role of the Legislative or the Executive. This situation is Judicial overreach.
In other words :
– The Legislative creates Laws.
– The Judiciary is supposed to interpret and enable implementation of laws.
– The Executive actually implements the laws.
– If the Judiciary gets into creation of laws or steps into the role of the Executive; without a very strong reason to do so – the situation is Judicial Overreach.
Judicial Review and Activism are considered as valid and necessary. Judicial overreach is sometimes considered as a obstruction or undermining the functions of the other arms of the Government.
