HC orders issue of notice to Law Secretary on petition

Madras High Court today ordered issue of notice to Law Secretary, Chairman Bar Council of India, Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University and Union Law Department on a plea seeking to declare the Tamil Nadu Establishment of Private Law Colleges (Prohibition) Act, 2014 as illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires of the Constitution.
A Division Bench, comprising Justice M.Sathyanarayanan and Justice R. Mahadevan, admitted the petition filed by K Balu, advocate of PMK party and President of Advocates' forum for Social Justice and posted the matter for further hearing to November 19.
Balu in his petition submitted that 65,000 advocates were practicing as on date in Tamil Nadu with a five crore population. Therefore,the State must have adequate Law colleges, government or private.

He submitted that under the Advocates Act 1961, the Bar Council of India is the supreme regulatory body to regulate the legal profession in India and also its professional standards. As students in Tamil Nadu could not get admission, they migrate to other states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the petitioner alleged.
He contended that even though the state Government in 2012 passed a government order for issuing No Objection Certificates, no permission was granted to start private law colleges.Instead the government passed a bill in the Assembly called 'Tamil Nadu Establishment of Private Law Colleges (Prohibition) Act 2014', the petitioner said.

"The Act deprives the fundamental rights guaranteed under part III of the Constitution of India," the petitioner said.
He prayed to declare the Act as unconstitutional and ultra vires of the constitution as legal education is guaranteed under the Central Act and state has no power to prohibit private law colleges.