Maharashtra Govt & BCI in Contradiction over Age Relaxation for Law Admissions

At the set of the academic session 2016, the law course admissions in Maharashtra has seen the bottleneck regarding an age-related issue. Contrary to “no age limit” clause as followed by Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admissions 2016, Bar Council of India (BCI) affirmed that it would not permit any candidate, who was above the prescribed age limit specified by BCI, to register for practicing law.

Also Read: IIT Delhi's Road Safety Campaign Spreads Across India

The state has decided to follow the norms set by Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admissions 2016. However, various law colleges of Maharashtra maintain that they will be offering admission on the basis of CLAT for the current academic session.

Sitaram Kuntem, Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department said that they have decided that this year’s admissions will be in accordance with CLAT norms. The brochures for admissions had not specified any age limit and candidates had applied accordingly. As the Common Entrance Test is over and merit list declared, the government has decided to do away with the age limit for this year.

Also Read:1st Journalism and Communication School to be started by DU

BCI, the apex body in law education in India, earlier issued letters to law colleges in Maharashtra to maintain minimum age criteria. The standing committee of BCI also issued a letter that they will not allow anyone above the prescribed age limit to enrol with the BCI for practice. However, they can take admissions to gain knowledge.