Law colleges in city face delays over Bar Council recognition; fines mount
Yogita.Rao@timesofindia.com 12.07.2026
Mumbai : A majority of law colleges across Mumbai are in a bind over a new state govt requirement that makes the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) recognition letter mandatory for participation in the CET cell’s admission process.
Due to a procedural mismatch between the two statutory authorities, Mumbai University (MU) and the BCI, private colleges are forced to pay a fine of up to Rs 8 lakh to obtain BCI approval. Colleges now plan to meet the higher education minister, Chandrakant Patil, to seek a relaxation of the requirement. Meanwhile, 30 colleges, which were denied affiliation certificates, are yet to get relief from the MU.
Together, the two issues have raised concerns over delays in this year’s admission process. A principal said ‘the university’s affiliation certificate for the academic session was issued to several colleges only recently, when the BCI process required them to upload the certificate by Dec 31’.
“Although the delay is entirely beyond the control of the colleges, the BCI is levying a late fee fine for delayed compliance, which is Rs 4 lakh per programme. Colleges offering both the 3-year and the 5-year LLB are burdened with an unfair financial liability of Rs 8 lakh,” they mentioned in a letter to Patil.
The MU, in a letter written to the BCI, mentioned that the affiliation certificates are granted in June every year, as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016. MU, therefore, appealed to the council to exempt colleges from the imposition of a late fee. No relaxation has been granted by the BCI yet. The problem is faced only by private and unaided colleges that have to seek extension of affiliation from the university every year.
Most aided colleges, which enjoy permanent affiliation, have already obtained the BCI recognition letter. Earlier the BCI followed a manual process. Though similar clashes between the timelines of the two statutory authorities have occurred in the past, the shift to an online approval process two years ago has made it even more difficult for colleges, said a principal. “It will be a recurring problem in Maharashtra universities. Either the universities will have to issue the affiliation certificates before Dec 31, or the BCI will have to extend their deadline,” he added.
