Overview

• BCI has served show-cause notices to National Law Institute University, Bhopal; IIT Kharagpur; O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat; and National Law University, Delhi for offering LL.M. courses without its sanction
• Justice Rajendra Menon’s June 25 advisory reminded High Courts, State Bar Councils and universities that all LL.M. and equivalent programmes require prior BCI approval under Supreme Court rulings and UGC (ODL) Regulations 2020
• The council declared that any degree from unauthorized online, distance, blended or hybrid modes is null and void ab initio, with reliance on such qualifications treated as misrepresentation
• High Courts are urged to reject or void appointments, promotions and academic decisions based on unapproved LL.M. credentials and to demand BCI compliance certificates from candidates
• The enforcement drive aims to uphold uniform standards and academic integrity amid the rise of non-traditional postgraduate legal education models