Lawyers protest against 6 proposed bills that curb their independence

Lawyers protest against 6 proposed bills that curb their independence

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 11, 2012: The Mangalore Bar Association organized a protest in front of the DC’s office on July 11, in response to a call from the Bar Council of India, against the draft of the Higher Education and Research Bill 2011, which removes legal education from the ambit of the Bar Council of India.

 

 

 

 

In his protest address, S. P. Changappa, president of the Mangalore Bar Association, said that the Lawyers’ Act was implemented during the days Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi were practicing law in the early sixties.

But the proposed bill, which will be discussed in Parliament, will remove the powers related to legal education and syllabus framing entrusted to State Bar Councils. He said that the bill suggests the formation of a National Commission of academicians, who will take care of issues related to legal education. If such a commission is formed, the Bar Council will no longer have any say on the formation of legal education policies. The bill will deprive advocates of their freedom and elected statutory bodies of powers related to the legal profession and legal education, he said.

The protestors also opposed the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institution Act 2010, the Foreign Educational Institution Regulation of Entry and Operation Bill 2010, the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Higher Educational Institution Bill 2010, the National Law Schools Bill 2011, and the Motor Vehicle Act of 2011.

Although India has 1.7 million practicing advocates, the central government is appointing lawyers from other countries, he said, adding that lawyers condemn this and oppose the move to permit establishment of foreign law firms in the country.

Alleging that the diminished quality of higher legal education is because of the negligence of the Human Resource Development Ministry, he said that the Bar Council of India is responsible for education policies related to undergraduate courses, not higher legal education.

The association organized a protest march from the court complex to the DC’s office and submitted a memorandum to the central government through the DC. In their memorandum, they demanded immediate withdrawals of the proposed bills.

A number of lawyers such as Ravindranath Rai, Raghavendra Rao, B. Vittal Rai, and Ganesh Shenoy took part in this protest.