New Delhi: Centre's move to introduce the National Commission of Higher Education and Research Bill has seen opposition from the Bar Council of India on the ground that the proposal tends to take away its powers in legal education.

The decision to drop the proposal which sought a tooth and nail opposition from the Council was taken in its emergency meeting here on Sunday.

According to a resolution, introduction of the Bill would directly affect the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, where the BCI is entrusted with the responsibility of conducting inspection to ensure that the standards laid down for legal education are adhered to.

It is this power that the BCI is proposed to be done away with while replacing it with the National Commission of Higher Education and Research.

Such a step would not help in standardizing the legal profession and would deprive it of a full say in formulating and implementing the policies involved at the professional level.

The BCI, since its formation in 1961 had brought about notable changes in the legal education system by first introducing a three year LL.B. while replacing the two year course that came as a revolution, although slow, but injected quality in the profession.

In 1986, the BCI introduced that best brains to the profession by introducing a five-year LL.B. programme.

"The Bill further mulls to vest power to centralize higher education and with such an overburdened responsibility it can be expected that the Commission would never be able to maintain the quality standards needed in the development of research in legal education," said the BCI.

"It is expected that the delicate balance which is maintained by the Centre and the States in the matter of education may get disturbed if such an action is taken. The BCI will not approve of any such step which weans away its power given to States or for that matter already created under various statutes for the functioning of various professional organizations. While impinging on the autonomy, the Bill undesirably and unreasonably vests the centralization of power," it added.

It is a stealthy effort on their part to invite foreign firms by lowering the status of the legal profession deprives the profession in the country of its legitimate claims, says the BCI.

The concluding minutes of the meeting said that legal education should also be at par with that of medicine and agriculture by exempting it under the purview of new legislation.