Admission to LL.B. Course and Eligibility of Foreign UG Law Degree

Judgment dated 14.8.2026 of the High Court of Bombay Writ Petition No.4739 of 2026 of Yohaan Abraham  Vs.  Chadrapati Shivaji Maharaj University and the Bar Council of India

Admission to LL.B. Course and the Recognition of Foreign Undergraduate Law Degree

The respondent no.1 University cancelled the provisional admission of the petitioner to the three-year LL.B. course o the ground that three-year undergraduate law degree from Queen Mary University of London is not qualifying First Degree for such admission.

As per the notification dated 26.8.2020 of the Bar Council of India, the three-year undergraduate law degree from Queen Mary University of London is eligible for admission to LL.B. course

The Notification dated 26th August 2020 must therefore be given effect according to its terms. It may establish recognition of specified foreign law qualifications subject to specified conditions; it does not dispense with the separate eligibility requirement for admission to the Indian three year LL.B. course. Recognition of the Petitioner’s foreign law degree for one statutory purpose cannot, by implication, confer eligibility for another distinct statutory purpose. Resultantly, the Petitioner’s reliance on the Notification dated 26th August 2020 including, inter alia, on condition (ii) (b) thereof, cannot be accepted.

we hold that the Petitioner’s three-year undergraduate law degree obtained from Queen Mary University of London cannot, merely by reason of its recognition by the BCI for the purposes contemplated under the regulatory framework governing foreign law degrees, be treated as the qualifying ‘First Degree’ for admission to the three-year LL.B. course in India. The BCI Notification dated 26th August 2020 does not lead to a different conclusion. Consequently, the Petitioner has failed to establish that he possessed the requisite qualification for admission to the three-year LL.B. course conducted by Respondent No.1