LHC seeks statistics of law colleges given affiliation in violation of rules

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Tuesday lamented that public sector universities accredited even one-room law colleges.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was heading a full bench hearing petitions challenging five-year LLB programme and age limit of 24-year fixed by Punjab University and others in light of Pakistan Bar Council’s suggestions.

During the course of hearing, the chief justice observed, “It is awful to learn that law colleges established in shops and garages are affiliated with the universities.” Representing the petitioners, Advocate Safdar Shaheen argued that the impugned policies were in glaring violation of the mandate of the legal education rules, the law and Constitution. He said it was fundamental right of every citizen to be educated in law or in any other profession and no rule could be made to discourage people from getting higher education especially by fixing the age limit.

Pakistan Bar Council’s members Azam Nazir Tarar and Maqsood Buttar appeared before the bench to plead the bar’s point of view. They said the impugned rules were made to lift the declining standard of the legal education. However, they said, enforcement of the rules caused many complications. The PBC members had the view that the bar wanted to discourage mushroom growth of substandard law colleges.

The chief justice expressed astonishment on the accreditation granted to one-room law colleges by the public universities. The bench directed the Punjab government to submit complete statistics of the law colleges given affiliation in violation of rules. Hearing was adjourned for September 19.