On Friday, Delhi HC stated that the Bar Council of India rules providing for the different criterias of Internships and Moot Court Competitions to be fulfilled by the law student during the Law School are completely obsolete and require a complete overhaul.
Delhi HC Bench comprising of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Najmi Wazri was hearing the case in relation to suicide committed by Law Student Shushant Rohilla of Amity Law School (Amity University).
Advocate Tanmaya Mehta, appearing on behalf of Amity University brought to the HC Bench's notice the requrement of Bar Council of India Rules which state that Student has to undergo compulsory internship of 20 weeks in while pursuing 5 year law, attend a civil and crimimal trial during the internship which is limited to the duration of 4 weeks every year and also write a Court Diary for the same.
To this Bench stated that, "It was completely unaware of such unrealistic rules of Bar Council of India as a Law Student in present times cannot witness a Civil and Criminal Trial within 4 weeks as such trials take much longer time to get completed. Such statutory requirements can never be met by a Law Student".
HC Bench was of the view that,"There is undue pressure upon the young students to start searching for the internships who have just competed their schooling and have joined the Law School. The students who don't have ways and means to secure the internships get bogged down under the peer pressure to secure such internships".
Delhi High Court Bench further added that,"If Bar Council of India rules provide for such statutory requirements for the Law Students to be met, then it is the duty of Bar Council of India to secure for the every law student in India such internships working in conjugation with the Law Schools in India. The Bar Council of India should create a list of lawyers who are willing to take interns and should share the list with Law Schools who are not equipped to provide their students with the internship opportunities".
The Advocate appearing for Bar Council of India sought time to respond to the queries of the Bench.
It was a letter written by Raghav Sharma, another final year student of Amity and a close friend of 3rd year Law students Sushant Rohilla, to the then CJI TS Thakur, which caused this PIL to be instituted in Supreme Court. In the letter, he puts the blamed Amity University, citing reasons including medical issues which first prevented Rohilla from attending the classes, leading to his lack of attendance, then a severe depression at being barred from the exams, and all of it culminating in a suicide by hanging, at his own house on 10th August 2016.
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