The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a stern compliance directive, dated June 25, 2025, warning that any Master of Laws (LL.M.) or equivalent postgraduate legal programme offered exclusively through online, distance, blended, or hybrid modes without prior BCI approval is “unauthorised and shall not be recognised for any purpose whatsoever.” Such qualifications, including those misleadingly titled as “LLM (Professional)” or “MSc (Law),”cited as the unauthorized and illegal.
Authored by Justice (Retired) Rajendra Menon—former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and co‑Chairperson of the BCI’s Standing Committee on Legal Education—the advisory was circulated to all High Courts in India, urging them to take judicial notice of this regulatory stance. The BCI has called upon courts to ensure that no appointments, promotions, academic appointments, research registrations, or judicial service eligibility determinations are based on such unapproved qualifications.
Section 7(1X(h) of the Advocates Act, 1961 mandates that the Bar Council of India shall promote legal education and lay down standards of such education. This obligation has been reinforced through authoritative pronouncements of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, including in Vinit Garg v. University Grants Commission, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1510 of 2018, where was clearly held that no institution or university is entitled to commence or continue any programme of study through online or distance mode without the prior approval of the statutory regulator governing that field.
In the case of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation Ltd. v. Ravi Shankar Patro and Others, Civil Appeal Nos. 17869-17870 of 2017, the Hon’ble Supreme Court reiterated that approval from the concerned regulator is mandatory even for institutions of national importance or those established under special statutes.
In its notice, the BCI disclosed that showcause notices have already been issued to several premier institutions, including the National Law Institute University, Bhopal; Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat; and National Law University, Delhi. These institutions are accused of marketing LL.M.‑equivalent programmes via non‑traditional delivery formats without securing the mandatory sanction stipulated under the Legal Education Rules, 2008 and 2020.
To enforce compliance, the BCI has directed vice‑chancellors and university administrators to immediately suspend all such unauthorised programmes. Furthermore, any candidate seeking appointment or advancement on the basis of an LL.M. or related qualification must furnish confirmation from the BCI that the programme was conducted in strict accordance with the Legal Education Rules.
Legal education experts have welcomed the directive, noting that it reinforces the statutory protections surrounding the LL.M. degree and safeguards students against potential academic fraud. Universities affected by the directive are expected to submit their approval applications to the BCI in the coming weeks, ensuring that their postgraduate legal offerings align with the Council’s regulatory framework.
