Mumbai: Bombay high court has dismissed a student’s petition challenging cancellation of his provisional admission to the three-year LLB course. It held that his three-year undergraduate law degree from a foreign university cannot be treated as a qualifying ‘first degree’ for admission in India.Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash on Friday said the three-year LLB course in India is a second-stage degree to be pursued after graduation in any discipline. “We have independently examined the statutory framework and have concluded that the petitioner’s foreign undergraduate law degree does not constitute the antecedent ‘first degree’ required for admission to the three-year LLB course,” they added.Yohaan Abraham (25) completed class XII from a Chembur school before pursuing the undergraduate degree from Queen Mary University of London. After his provisional admission to Panvel’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, he was told it is subject to clarification from the Bar Council of India or the State Bar Council whether a foreign undergraduate law degree would entitle him to pursue an LLB degree here. On Jan 6, Abraham’s admission was cancelled. His advocate Aneesa Cheema said after accepting his documents and fees, the admission was abruptly cancelled without reasons or a hearing.The judges agreed with BCI’s advocate Yogesh Naidu that the three-year LLB in India is a second-stage degree after graduation. They also agreed that Abraham did not possess a separate ‘first degree’ in any discipline before undertaking the degree from Queen Mary. “His three-year law degree commenced immediately after completion of class XII and constituted his first undergraduate qualification,” they noted.They referred to the Rules of Legal Education, 2008 which “consistently contemplate a sequence — an applicant must first possess a qualifying graduation-level qualification and thereafter pursue the three-year degree course in law.” It reflects the “very structure” of the LLB course as a second-stage professional law degree. “… the route available to a student proceeding directly after class XII is the integrated five-year law course,” the judges added.They disagreed with Cheema that Abraham’s foreign law degree was recognised by a BCI notification and, therefore, qualified as a ‘first degree’. They said BCI’s notification does not override eligibility rules for admission. While noting there “was substance” in Abraham’s grievance that the Jan 6 communication gave no reasons for cancellation, the record showed the issue was known to him. “The petitioner has failed to establish that he possessed the requisite qualification for admission to the three-year LLB course,” they concluded.
