The Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell has made a big change in the admission procedures for the three-year LLB course. Now, graduates of open and distance learning programmes will be able to apply to LLB course.
This decision comes as a relief to students that were previously excluded from the admission criteria.
According to the Maha CET Cell's circular released on February 2, students who graduated from an open institution and passed a preparation exam are eligible to take the MH 3-year LLB admission 2024 exam. The notification also emphasised adherence to the official website's timetable for a smooth application process.
The change came after a series of court cases, notably Vishnu Harishchandre's 2021 petition challenging the denial of his law college admission based on Bar Council of India regulations. Harishchandre's victory in the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court paved the way for open university graduates seeking legal education.
Previously, the Bar Council of India's Rule 5 barred applicants with degrees from open universities. This became a challenge for students like Harishchandre to apply. However, the High Court's landmark ruling declared this exclusion unjust, citing similar successful cases in 2018 and 2019. Following his 2008 graduation from Yashwantrao Chavan Open University in Nashik with a bachelor's degree in commerce, Harishchandre was denied admission to a law college in Aurangabad.
The college noted that Harishchandre finished 10th on the State Board in 1992 while rejecting his admission. He went on to class 11 in 1993 after that. Then, he registered for the study of arts in the 12th Standard, but he could not pass the test. He then chose to enroll in Yashwantrao Chavan Open University, Nashik (YCMOU)'s degree preparation programme in 2005, and he graduated from the university in 2008 with a BCom degree.
This method of study was rejected by the college. The court's ruling in Harishchandra's case held that it was not acceptable to exclude degree-holding students from open universities. There were more such cases in 2018 and 2019, in which students successfully contested the admission requirements. They were all admitted to law schools.
Even then, not all of the open university graduates could get admission to law courses. The students had to file a writ petition or get a court ruling to get admission to the college. But this historic ruling established a precedent. This is because, responding to the court's directive, the CET Cell issued a notification, granting open university graduates access to the LLB admission process.
Now, all eligible candidates can fill out the CET application form and participate in the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) without resorting to legal interventions. This decision marks a significant shift, previously limited to students who took admissions after filing writ petitions.
This year, the MH LLB 3-year CET test will take place on March 12 and 13.